Chaos adds to chaos

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued 630 fines since 11 February to airlines carrying passengers without the right documents. These measures form part of the UK Government’s border measures to protect the UK as the vaccine rollout continues to make progress with more than 42m vaccinations delivered so far.

It remains a requirement for all passengers, no matter which country they have travelled from, to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than three days before departure and to self-isolate on arrival. A passenger locator form (PLF) must also be completed and passengers arriving without a completed form and negative test face a £500 fine.

Carriers are obliged to ensure passengers have these documents before they arrive in England and can face fines of £2,000 for each passenger they carry who does not have a valid Pre-Departure Test Certificate, and £2,000 for each passenger who does not have a completed PLF (including with the correct test booking reference number for managed quarantine or mandatory testing).

This is in addition to fines of £4,000 for failing to provide the correct information to passengers before departure and during the journey informing them of their requirements, and a £2,000 fine for conveying passengers who have been in a red list country in the previous 10 days to a non-designated port.

Border Force is currently checking every individual coming into the country, no matter where they have come from.  How the current airport queuing problems are alleviated remains to be seen, although a fast-track system is rumoured.  

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/border-force

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

mike carrivick, UK

As ever in respect of Govt-initiated fines like this, it's all one-sided. Where are the penalties that Border Force should pay to airlines/airports for excessive processing and queueing times.

Michael Ashet, Istanbul

How much do the CAA/Border Force pay airlines for every passenger passenger for which they are required to do this work?

Philip Zeus, Manchester

What the CAA needs to publish is a list of airlines who have failed to pay the fines!