Forum Topic

Trump funnels transatlantic EU air travel via Heathrow?

Will this help the USA at all?If US citizens face a multi-thousand dollar bill just to get a test for Covid 19, it is hardly surprising detection is problemtic, and it might be one of the only levers he can pull.It may also help UK based airlines keep their seats less empty, by focusing the much lower passenger numbers onto fewer aircraft, so I guess that is a plus from a climate point of view.

Christopher Gillie ● 2429d6 Comments

'If US citizens face a multi-thousand dollar bill just to get a test for Covid 19'They don't.https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/05/fact-check-coronavirus-test-does-not-cost-3000-medical-bills/4949078002/

Paul Corcoran ● 2429d

Jennifer Kates, the director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said in a phone interview, “There could be other costs incurred.” Visits to the doctor’s office and the emergency room can cost patients money, she said, noting that some high-deductible insurance plans could effectively charge patients who go to the ER $1,000 or more.“This all comes down to coverage,” she said.So still bloody expensive and you have to be covered. What was your point other than being contrary?

Basil Finnis ● 2429d

As UK is exempt, won't it increase UK air traffic or at least mean there are fewer empty planes?  If I were based elsewhere in Europe and wanted to get to the US I'd just get to a UK airport and then fly to the US from there.

Claire Moran ● 2429d

Not quite as simple as that, I'm afraid.Trump's new edict states that anybody who has been in one of the excluded countries "within the past 14 days" cannot enter the US - this presumably means that anybody wanting to travel to the US from one of these countries VIA the UK would need to first remain in the UK for those 14 days (and be able to prove it, as otherwise their passport would be a giveaway).Presumably, this would exclude all but a handful of people who would be absolutely desperate to get to the US.Also, bear in mind that, from the near future, it would be unlikely that there would be any direct flights from the US to their country of origin, so they would presumably need to return via the UK (or similar),

David Noades ● 2428d

Those UK flights will now be on red alert with US immigration. They dont mess around at the best of times and if they see fit your be back on a plane in the opposite direction very swiftly.

Julian Pavey ● 2428d

I think US citizens are exempt, so assuming, say, 40% of travellers are from the US, 40% from the EU and 20% from the rest of the world (a total guess), the UK may funnel the US citizens between the EU and the USA as it is the only place likely to have sufficient numbers of flights to be realistically economic.

Christopher Gillie ● 2428d