- Title: UK airports set to get busier as travel restrictions from more countries lifted
- Date: 10th July 2020
- Summary: GATWICK, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 10, 2020) (REUTERS) DEPARTURES AT GATWICK AIRPORT SCREEN ADVERTISING CORONAVIRUS SAFETY MEASURES CHECK-IN AREA SIGN ADVERTISING HAND SANITISER PEOPLE TALKING TO GROUND STAFF WOMAN WALKING TO CHECK IN DESK SOUNDBITE (English) GATWICK AIRPORT CEO, STEWART WINGATE, SAYING: "I think in common with the rest of the aviation industry COVID 19 has really had a big impact on our airports during the months of April, May and June. But as of today we're starting to see passengers be able to travel to 75 percent of the destinations that they normally want to travel to from Gatwick and know that when they come back to the UK that they're quarantined free." VARIOUS OF SIGN READING (English) "MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING...ALTHOUGH ITS HARD TO STAY APART" SOUNDBITE (English) GATWICK AIRPORT CEO, STEWART WINGATE, SAYING: "So if we look at our airlines, our largest airline, EasyJet, started flying again in the middle of June. We were the first airport that they started flying to and from. They're very important to us and we're very important to them. British Airways will start flights in the next few weeks. Norwegian are already flying up into Copenhagen and Oslo and today TUI are at the airport as they're going to start their next operations tomorrow to the Spanish resorts and then later in the month across to Greece. So all of our big airlines are continuing to operate to and from Gatwick." PEOPLE AT CHECK IN DESK SOUNDBITE (English) GATWICK AIRPORT CEO, STEWART WINGATE, SAYING: "Certainly, COVID has had a big impact on us over the last few months. What we're now hoping to do is to stimulate the market with the airlines and particularly with the quarantine free arrangement for passengers coming back from the European resorts. So what we're gonna do and what our airlines are going to do is to really focus on the popular European destinations and hopefully that will see the airport grow as we go through into August time. But we'll be running at about 40 or 50 percent of the normal volumes that we'd see at this time of year." SUITCASE PEOPLE AT CHECK IN DESK SOUNDBITE (English) GATWICK AIRPORT CEO, STEWART WINGATE, SAYING: "We've put a lot of effort into working with the government and making sure that we get the highest levels of hygiene and sanitation possible at the airport to protect both our stuff, but importantly, also passengers. So we've worked really hard. We're insisting that people wear masks as they come through the airport. We put in hand sanitiser stations throughout the airport. Lots of hand washing facilities and also perspex screens and key passenger areas to try to make sure that everybody is as safe as it possibly can be." SIGN READING (English) "YOUR LONDON AIRPORT, GATWICK" VARIOUS OF HAND SANITISER STATION VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING AT CHECK IN VARIOUS OF SIGN AT ENTRANCE READING (English) "CHECK IN AND BAG DROP" VARIOUS OF SCREEN ADVERTISING CORONAVIRUS SAFETY MEASURES VARIOUS OF FACE MASK VENDING MACHINE VARIOUS OF INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS ARRIVALS BOARD WOMAN COMING OUT OF ARRIVALS
- Embargoed: 24th July 2020 13:05
- Keywords: COVID-19 Gatwick airlines airplanes planes quarantine
- Location: GATWICK, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: GATWICK, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001CM880G7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Britain's Gatwick airport hopes that passenger numbers will begin to increase as quarantine measures for those traveling to the UK from around 70 countries and overseas territories, including France and Italy, no longer apply from Friday (July 10).
Those arriving from higher-risk countries will still have to self-quarantine for 14 days but many popular destinations are now exempt, meaning millions of Britons are able to take summer holidays without having to stay at home when they return.
Airports like Gatwick have imposed safety measures such as perspex screens, mandatory mask-wearing, hand-sanitiser stations and hand-washing facilities to stop the spread of the virus.
But flights are likely to remain far below usual levels and the boss of Gatwick, London's second-busiest airport, told Reuters he was hoping that quarantine-free travel would be widened to other destinations.
"What we're gonna do and what our airlines are going to do is to really focus on the popular European destinations and hopefully that will see the airport grow as we go through into August time. But we'll be running at about 40 or 50 percent of the normal volumes that we'd see at this time of year," said Chief Executive Stewart Wingate.
(Production: Gerhard Mey, Natalie Thomas) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
