LONDON (LBC) – Travel industry leaders have reacted with fury to the decision to put six southern African countries on the red list.
The Government was accused of a “knee-jerk” reaction to fears over a new variant of coronavirus.
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia were put on the UK’s red list at noon on Friday.
Passengers arriving from those countries after 4am on Sunday will be required to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £2,285.
Those arriving before then will need to self-isolate at home for 10 days and take additional coronavirus tests.
Direct flights from the six countries are banned until the hotel quarantine scheme resumes, leading to cancellations by airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
The measures were announced by Health Secretary Sajid Javid on social media shortly before 9pm on Thursday.
Travel consultancy The PC Agency estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 British citizens are in South…