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PARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Europe faces a "significant
impact" to its air transport system after several nations cut or
reduced transport links with Britain over fears of a new
coronavirus strain, the Eurocontrol air traffic agency warned on
Monday.
Eurocontrol Director General Eamonn Brennan said there had
been 900 daily flights between Monday and Saturday last week
between the United Kingdom and the 27 countries of the European
Union.
"We’ll see a significant impact on the network as a result
of the new (coronavirus) variant in the UK," he wrote on
Twitter.
Already reeling from the loss of some six million flights
since March due to the pandemic, airlines faced a flood of
overnight restrictions echoing the sudden impact of an Icelandic
volcano ash emergency in 2010, albeit on reduced traffic levels.
"The measures came in at extremely short notice," an airline
industry official told Reuters.
Airlines were expected to issue a fresh appeal to step up
testing regimes in order to keep borders open.
Eurocontrol listed various full or partial bans on flights
from the UK.
Some, like Italy and Germany, exempted cargo and medical
flights. Romania also exempted mail flights, but it was not
immediately clear to what extent postal services would be
affected elsewhere.
Germany's Deutsche Post said earlier it was halting all
deliveries of parcels to Britain.
France, Latvia and Bulgaria banned all flights from Britain
with no apparent exemptions, according to notices to pilots.
Britain expressed surprised at the French freight ban.
Airlines operating in London Heathrow, meanwhile, were
warned to ensure passengers do not become stranded in Britain
and "can be appropriately routed to the final destination".
The Netherlands said in an industry bulletin that Dutch
carriers and Britain's easyJet would be able to
repatriate aircraft and crew "in order to get these planes out
of the United Kingdom".
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Mark
Potter)
