HEATHROW boss John Holland-Kaye has called for compulsory temperature checks and ‘health passports’ as well as mass coronavirus testing at all UK airports as cases of the virus continue to rise.
Concerns have been raised with passengers continuing to enter the country without any health checks.
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The chief executive has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, demanding stricter measures across the borders of the country.
According to the Mail Online, new measures should be agreed across all airports, which include testing passengers for the virus through antibody tests, as well as carrying documents proving they don’t have the virus, dubbed “health passports”.
He also called for temperature checks on all travellers entering the country, as well as clarification from Public Health England following government claims that this is “ineffective” in determining coronavirus.
At least 15,000 people a day are still travelling to the UK without being checked for coronavirus, the health secretary admitted last week.
Mr Hancock said the equivalent of 105,000 passengers a week were flying in from countries including China, Italy and the US – all of which have serious outbreaks of the deadly bug.
The only current measure in place for incoming visitors is to self-isolate, although this is not tracked or enforced.
A British passenger returning from Italy last month told The Sun: ”’All the crew had masks and gloves on and some of the passengers had masks or scarves over their faces but other than that there were no checks on board or anything like that.
”We were just asked to try and keep apart as much as possible from each other and to self isolate when we got home as we had come back from a high risk area.
”When I landed at Madrid last week I had my temperature checked when I landed there but there was nothing of the sort at Heathrow when I landed.”
The UK government has said screening passengers upon arrival would do little to halt the spread of the bug because the scale of the UK’s outbreak is so big.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain last week, Mr Hancock said: ” We don’t test at airports because the number of people coming through has dropped dramatically.
“The epidemiological impact of keeping travel open is very small because there’s already large transmissions here.”
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A Heathrow Airport spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “As a global hub airport, Heathrow will need to adopt the highest international standards, even if that takes us beyond those required by the UK Government.
“However, we believe that the UK Government could provide a lead in defining that Common International Standard, as they have done with security standards. At Heathrow, we are already working with the aviation industry and regulators here and in other countries to establish the need for a common standard, and what it might involve.
“The UK Government has repeatedly said that the evidence suggests temperature checks in particular are ineffective once there is community transmission. We therefore request that the evidence base for the current advice be published as soon as possible, so that it can be properly considered against international advice.”
The Heathrow website also states: “You may be used to seeing temperature checks at airports around the world, as some of our partner airports operate checks year-round regardless of outbreaks of illnesses. It may be the case that you have just landed at Heathrow from an airport that checked your temperature before you boarded your plane.
“There are currently no temperature checks at Heathrow for arriving flights, so you should not expect to see them when you land.”
“This is not a measure that Heathrow decided itself; we would like to reassure you that Heathrow is following the guidance and advice of Public Health England (PHE) on which measures are required to contain and respond to Coronavirus effectively.”
Countries around the world have introduced strict checks – New Zealand enforce two-week isolations, while Turkey added thermal scanners to their airports.
They could also be introduced at holiday destinations, with bars in Spain warning of temperature checks before entering.
Even Disney theme parks could demand guests go through thermal scanners ahead of visiting.
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