Heathrow Airport has today reopened Terminal 4 as a dedicated facility for processing passengers arriving from red-list countries.
People arriving in London from the 10 high-risk destinations have now been separated amid growing concern over the ‘super-mutant’ Omicron Covid variant.
Currently, travellers from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia have to quarantine for 11 days in hotels for the hefty cost of £2,285.
Ministers, however, have not ruled out adding more countries to the international travel list.
Heathrow first opened a facility for red-list arrivals at Terminal 3 in June following concerns that allowing passengers to mix with those who had flown in from other locations could increase the spread of Covid.
It was later switched to Terminal 4 – but was closed in early November when the red list was left empty.
The airport said its ‘safety first approach’ also includes mandatory face coverings, intensive robotic cleaning regimes for all terminals, enhanced ventilation in immigration halls and Covid-19 marshals on hand.
Emma Gilthorpe, COO at Heathrow, said: ‘We are supportive of measures that protect public health and prevent the spread of Covid.
‘The rapid introduction of restrictions for international travel will nonetheless be a further significant blow for British exporters and those wanting to visit friends and relatives.
‘Keeping the changes under constant review and a Government commitment to the removal of red list countries, as soon as it is safe to do so, will help.
‘Heathrow maintains the highest levels of Covid-secure measures to ensure our passengers, colleagues and partners know that Heathrow is a safe place to travel to and from.’
Passengers flying into Heathrow will also be able to use PCR testing facilities either inside or close to the airport.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.