Originally Posted by
Confus
If nothing else, it would show that the government is finally getting serious about getting this thing under control. Domestic rule compliance would also go up if they’re seen to be serious... and of course people shouldn’t be going for leisure travel at the moment anyway.
But more importantly, as I’ve said before, stopping people entering the country (and therefore leaving in the first place) at a time when it’s expected that domestic restrictions are likely to be reduced will lead to a huge amount of leisure/holiday spending within the UK, which would be a massive boost to the economy. Yes it means also preventing foreign tourists arriving, but realistically, who else is stupid enough to come here right now anyway? So for this reason alone, I think the government won’t be able to resist the temptation, it’s realistically a one-time-only offer they have.
BA will be fine.
Sad indeed that the UK is only starting to take covid seriously in terms of entry. It has the benefit to be an island but did not take advantage of it. Many countries in Asia have adopted quarantine in hotels or dedicated centers (or very strict home quarantine) long ago and are those faring the best in terms of health and economy.
But that is another debate.
Except in China, and possibly the US, all airlines are in ICU. They are all desperate to survive and BA is no exception. On the other hand, it is obvious that planes will still fly in a few years time. How the airline industry will restructure is an open question.
On the other hand, compulsory hotel quarantine for all arrivals would be a life saver for many hotels. If there are only 20,000 daily returnees and a 10-day quarantine, that means 200,000 rooms occupied each day (OK, there are some couples).