Heathrow boss calls for passengers to be given health checks at airports

Countries carrying out temperature checks on arriving passengers are "perceived as being safer" than the UK, according to the boss of Heathrow Airport.

Chief executive John Holland-Kaye called for passengers to be screened to boost demand for air travel.

In a statement published by The Aviation Club, he said:

Some Brits returning to the UK have criticised the lack of testing and medical advice after arriving back home.> The advice for everyone - whether or not they have recently entered the country - is to stay at home and only leave if essential.> However, other countries have introduced strict quarantine measures for arriving passengers.> This includes in the US and New Zealand, where travellers must isolate themselves for 14 days upon arrival.> Mr Holland-Kaye said that, until there is a cure or vaccine for Covid-19, it is likely that travel between countries "will only happen if each considers the other to be low risk".> He argued that the UK "needs to be at the forefront" of a new biosecurity standard for air travel as it has one of the world's largest aviation sectors.> It is "critical" that people travel "without the need for quarantine" to accelerate the recovery from the pandemic, Mr Holland-Kaye claimed.> He warned that it "cannot be a long-term solution" to leave the middle seats on planes empty - as suggested by easyJet - because of the financial and environmental implications.