The decision will almost certainly mean Brits have to cancel their summer holiday plans and will come as another massive blow to the tourism industry. The Prime Minister had been weighing up new travel restrictions over the weekend with his ministers, according to The Daily Mail. These included introducing a mandatory quarantine period of 10 days for passengers arriving from Covid hotspots.
However he has come under intense pressure to impose a blanket quarantine on all arrivals from abroad – a move that will bring the UK in line with Australia.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to back the proposal, having previously resisted such a move.
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock and the Home Secretary Priti Patel are said to be other senior members of the Cabinet who support the scheme.
Under the terms of the new travel ban, all passengers returning from overseas travels, including British residents, will have to quarantine for 10 days at specially designated hotels.
The travellers will have to pay for their rooms during their period of confinement, something that will make holidaying abroad prohibitively expensive for many people.
To enforce compliance with the quarantine, hotels will be patrolled by security guards.
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The government’s decision was predictably met with anger from representatives of the travel sector.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel company The PC Agency accused the Prime Minister of wantonly seeking to destroy the travel industry.
He told the Mail on Sunday: “This is destroying confidence among holidaymakers.
“People are not booking summer holidays because they don’t believe there is an end game which will see these blanket measures removed.
“This is a sure-fire way of destroying Britain’s aviation and travel industries.”
