London's Heathrow has warned that the return of Covid-19 testing at the airport could have a detrimental effect on the recovery of passenger numbers and the aviation sector in general.
Releasing its Christmas business update, Heathrow said it was “concerned that the recovery of the aviation sector, which is critical to the economy, could be set back by the reintroduction of testing for travellers in the UK and elsewhere in response to increasing Covid levels in China, even though governments acknowledge there is no scientific basis for doing so”.
Covid-19 tests were reintroduced at Heathrow this week for selected flights from China by the UK Health Security Agency to detect potential new variants.
The programme offers PCR tests to up to 20 per cent of arrivals from selected flights. Anyone offered a test is encouraged to take it, though this screening is not critical for entry, the agency said.
“Testing passengers on arrival from China will allow UKHSA to rapidly detect any potential new variants that have not yet been picked up through international surveillance,” said Prof Susan Hopkins, the agency's Chief Medical Adviser.
“The evidence so far suggests that the recent rise in cases in China is due to low natural immunity and low vaccine uptake, but this extra data will allow us to keep the situation under review,” she added.
Britain's government had already announced that passengers flying from mainland China to England would need to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than two days before departure, and that airlines were required to check that all people boarding flights in China have negative test results.
The World Health Organisation said on Monday that passengers on long-haul flights should wear face masks, and urged European countries to increase their Covid monitoring.
“A threat could come from a new variant of concern anywhere, anytime,” said Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe.
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Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images -
An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919 -
Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946 -
The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955 -
The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955 -
US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956 -
An aerial view showing the runways in 1958 -
The arrivals and departures board in 1960 -
A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961 -
The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965 -
The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965 -
Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966 -
Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970 -
Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971 -
Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973 -
Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976 -
Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977 -
Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977 -
An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978 -
Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979 -
Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981 -
British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984 -
Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 -
Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal -
Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003 -
Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003 -
Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004 -
Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period -
Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police -
Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007 -
The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008 -
Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016 -
Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century -
A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images -
Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold -
An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 -
British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 -
Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022
Passenger numbers take off
Heathrow said the Christmas period was the busiest for the airport since 2019, with more than 5.9 million passengers travelling in December.
The figures added to a picture of strong recovery for Heathrow in 2022. Over the course of last year, 61.6 million passengers passed through Heathrow, 42.2 million more than in 2021. This was the highest increase in passenger numbers of any airport in Europe.
Last year “ended on a high with our busiest Christmas in three years and a smooth and efficient service for passengers, thanks to the hard work of our colleagues and close planning with airlines, their ground handlers and Border Force,” said Heathrow chief executive, John Holland-Kaye.
About 1,000 Border Force staff, who check passengers' passports on arrival, went on strike last month, but most of the affected UK airports did not report any disruption, not least because members of the military were drafted into some of the roles.
Heathrow said 92 per cent of passengers passed through security in under 10 minutes during the Christmas peak, and arriving travellers reported a “friendly and efficient journey through immigration in spite of industrial action”.
