Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what restrictions they have imposed on flights arriving from ‘red list’ countries.

Direct flight bans apply to most countries on the ‘Red List’, and operators must only deliver passengers who have travelled indirectly from a ‘Red List’ country in the previous 10 days to a designated port.

Passengers who have been in a country or territory on the red list in the 10 days prior to their arrival will only be allowed to enter the UK if they are a British or Irish National, or have residence rights in the UK. Alongside the requirements to take a pre-departure test and complete the Passenger Locator Form, most people who are allowed to enter England from a country on the red list will be required to quarantine for 10 days in a government-approved managed quarantine hotel with Covid-19 tests on days 2 and 8.

Direct flight bans were not introduced for countries added to the ‘Red List’ on 9 and 23 April, which had regular scheduled services to England (Pakistan, Bangladesh and India), on a trial basis. Passengers on direct flights were still subject to measures such as quarantine in a government-approved managed quarantine hotel.

We continually assess the data to understand the efficacy of measures such as managed hotel quarantine, entry bans and testing to ensure public health is protected.