The United Kingdom (UK), has banned flight operation from countries which it considers might have high prevalence of the coronavirus disease with Qatar Airways, Ethiopia Oman and Somalia included in the country’s “red list” for travel.
The travel ban might have far reaching implications for the Qatar Airways given how big the carrier’s network is in the UK.
According to onemileatatime.com, As far as the logistics of this change go:
• The travel ban will be implemented as of 4AM on Friday, March 19, 2021
• British, Irish, and third-country nationals with residence rights who are arriving from or who have transited these countries in the past 10 days will have to quarantine in a government facility for 10 days; all others will be refused entry
There are around three dozen countries on the UK’s “red list,” which is primarily based on the risk of the importation of different strains of coronavirus. For example, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been on the list for several weeks.
What are the practical implications of Qatar Airways being on the “red list?”
• The airline could still operate cargo flights between Qatar and the UK, as the ban is specific to passengers
• The airline could operate flights from Qatar to the UK without passengers, and then operate flights from the UK to Qatar with passengers, since the ban is specifically on entry to the UK; this is what Emirates has done, as the airline has continued operating flights to the UK, but the UK-bound flights just don’t have any passengers onboard
