LONDON (UK) – Heathrow Airport authorities on Tuesday urged COVID-19 testing at airports as passenger footfall dropped 88% in July because of travel curbs which are throttling the economy.
Spain’s Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp have stakes in Heathrow and investors said the airport’s route network was grounded as passengers have to undergo two-week quarantine.
Although thousands of Britons are holidaying abroad, the government has reimposed restrictions on those arriving from Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said last week the government would not hesitate from adding more countries to the quarantine list.
However, Heathrow authorities believe that testing at airports could keep the routes open to help the country’s economy.
“Tens of thousands of jobs are being lost because Britain remains cut off from critical markets such as the US, Canada and Singapore,” said Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.
“The government can save jobs by introducing testing to cut quarantine from higher risk countries, while keeping the public safe from a second wave of COVID.”
More than 860,000 passengers travelled through Heathrow in July, which is 88% down from the same period last year.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field