Business network supports calls to relax air travel quarantine restrictions

A Nottinghamshire business network is backing calls for the government to relax blanket quarantine restrictions on air travel.
East Midlands Chamber is supporting calls to relax quarantine restrictions on air travel.East Midlands Chamber is supporting calls to relax quarantine restrictions on air travel.
East Midlands Chamber is supporting calls to relax quarantine restrictions on air travel.

East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles has joined a host of prominent business leaders from across the UK in signing up to a letter, which calls for looser restrictions on business travel and freight so firms can rebuild their international connections and kick-start the economy.

The letter, which is countersigned by the leaders of other Chambers of

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Commerce, travel and tourism bodies, universities and other businesses, says

that air transport, which supports more than 1.5 million jobs and 40 per cent of the UK’s trade with non-EU countries, has slowed to a trickle since the pandemic took hold in March.

Scott Knowles said: “The international travel restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus have strangled whole sections of the economy, putting jobs and businesses at risk.

“While protecting public health and preventing the spread of Covid-19 should

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remain a top priority, focus should turn to reopening these vital ‘travel corridors’ as quickly as possible where it is safe to do so, so businesses can re-establish their international connections, start trading again and begin the process of rebuilding the economy.”

The letter states the current indefinite and indiscriminate advice not to travel

overseas is preventing businesses and individuals from being able to plan with

confidence.

It calls for the advice to be updated to reflect the fact that although Covid-19 has affected every corner of the world, some countries have been less affected than others.

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A clear set of risk-based criteria should also be set out so that businesses can start to plan for a controlled reopening of the economy.

Scott added: “The longer lockdown goes on, the more strain it will place on the UK’s long-term health, economic and social outcomes, so we need to see what the government’s detailed plan to reopen the UK for business looks like as quickly as possible.”