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* England to start new test-and-release scheme on Dec. 15
* After 5 days of quarantine, passengers can get a test
* A negative test result would end quarantine period
* Passengers will have to pay for their tests privately
By Estelle Shirbon
LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - England will introduce a new
system on Dec. 15 allowing passengers arriving from high-risk
countries to take a COVID-19 test after five days of quarantine
and to be released from any further self-isolation if they test
negative.
Airlines and other companies in the travel and tourism
industries had been calling for such a scheme for months, having
suffered devastating consequences from a 14-day quarantine rule
that has deterred people from travelling.
"The move will give passengers the confidence to book
international trips in the knowledge that they can return home
and isolate for a shorter period if they have received a
negative test," the government said in a statement on Tuesday.
The new scheme will be open to all passengers arriving from
countries not featured on the government's safe travel list,
such as France, Italy, Spain and a number of other major
destinations usually favoured by British tourists.
"With this announcement there is now light at the end of the
tunnel not just for carriers and UK aviation but consumers
looking to get away at Christmas and beyond," said Tim
Alderslade, chief executive of industry group Airlines UK.
People travelling to England by plane, ferry or train from
Dec. 15 and wishing to take advantage of the scheme will have to
book a test with a private provider from a government-approved
list. They will have to pay for their test.
Those who decide not to take a test will still be required
to self-isolate for 14 days.
British Airways said the new scheme was "a significant step
in the right direction".
The airline added that it planned to publish results of
trials it was conducting between Britain and the United States
that it said would show that a robust pre-departure testing
system would eliminate the need for quarantine altogether.
The government also said it would introduce new financial
support for commercial airports and ground handlers in England
in the new year, capped at up to 8 million pounds ($11
million)per site.
"This new package of support for airports, alongside a new
testing regime for international arrivals, will help the
(aviation) sector take off once again as we build back better
from the pandemic," finance minister Rishi Sunak said in the
government statement.
($1 = 0.7510 pounds)
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Sarah Young;editing by
William James)
