Aviation chiefs seek amber list quarantine exemption

Chief executives from several airlines and Scottish airports have written to Nicola Sturgeon urging her to bring in the same rules as England for quarantine-free travel from amber-list countries.

From July 19, travellers from amber-list areas who have had both coronavirus vaccine doses will not have to self-isolate when they return to England.

CEOs from AGS Airports – which owns the terminals in Aberdeen and Glasgow – as well as easyJet, Loganair, Jet2 and Tui want to see the same exemption applied in Scotland.

They said the UK Government’s announcement was “a positive move towards the genuine reopening the sector has been looking for”.

Their letter states: “Connectivity is vital for Scotland, with current restrictions causing further ongoing damage to Scottish aviation and Scottish businesses, jeopardising tens of thousands of jobs up and down the country that depend on Scotland’s air links.

“We urge you to support travellers and Scotland’s aviation sector by bringing a quarantine exemption into effect for fully vaccinated UK residents from July 19.”

The First Minister is due to announce the next set of changes to coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday afternoon.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are considering relaxing restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from amber-list countries, but it needs to be fair and deliverable.

“Where possible we will look to adopt a four nation approach for the re-opening of international travel.

“However, decisions on border health measures are a devolved matter and will be taken by minsters on the basis of evidence and with the safety of our communities as our primary concern.

“If the clinical and scientific advice is that it is safe and appropriate to treat vaccinated travellers differently, we will consider changes to the restrictions and we will make an announcement on that shortly.”