London’s Heathrow airport has reopened its Terminal 4 as a separate arrivals facility for countries on the government’s Covid “red list” as of Wednesday.
Travelers arriving from red-list countries will be kept away from passengers in all other operational terminals, it said in a press release.In additional response to the risk posed by the Omicron variant, the airport will maintain “stringent anti-viral measures, designed to protect passengers and colleagues and reduce the risk of transmission,” it said.
England’s red travel list was brought back on November 26, after the government temporarily banned direct flights from countries from the southern Africa region over concerns about the Omicron variant.
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola are now on the UK’s red list.
Unless you’re a resident of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland – or a British or Irish national – you’ll be refused entry into the UK from a red-list country.
Heathrow Chief Operating Officer Emma Gilthorpe said the airport was “supportive of measures that protect public health and prevent the spread of Covid-19.”
“The rapid introduction of restrictions for international travel will nonetheless be a further significant blow for British exporters and those wanting to visit friends and relatives. Keeping the changes under constant review and a Government commitment to the removal of red list countries, as soon as it is safe to do so, will help,” Gilthorpe said.
Terminal 4 has been closed due the pandemic since May 2020.
Top image: People arrive at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 in west London on November 30. On December 1, Heathrow reopened Terminal 4 to process arrivals from red list countries. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)