Heathrow demands more government action to help aviation as quarantine triggers 95% crash in travellers to UK

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "Travel corridors were a great first step and now we need to go further to protect jobs and kickstart the economy, by allowing healthy passengers to travel freely between the UK and the rest of the world.

"We're ready to pilot a testing system on arrival for passengers from "red" countries as an alternative to quarantine, but even better would be to test passengers before they get on a plane. This requires a Common International Standard for testing, which the UK government could take a global lead in setting up."

Holland-Kaye last week spoke of his concerns that occasional outbreaks in cities such as Leicester, Lisbon and Melbourne and cities in the US were looking increasingly inevitable. He said there had to be an alternative to just shutting down travel to everyone from that country.

His warnings come as the industry reaches its peak months as millions of families weigh up the risks of flying and visiting foreign countries. Key concerns appear to be sitting on the aircraft itself, as well as the threat of being stuck in a foreign country's covid outbreak and concerns about being quarantined on their arrival back in the UK.

As with shopping, the government has been reluctant to enforce the wearing of masks in English airports, although they are compulsory in Scotland. Temperature checks are only in place on certain routes before flying, the government website says, although masks must be worn onboard the aircraft in both England and Scotland unless eating or drinking.

Passengers are told they must leave the airport as quickly as possible on arrival, and only those travelling are allowed to enter unless accompanying children or passengers needing assistance.

A full list of countries exempt from quarantine is on the government website.