Responding to the First Minister’s announcement on international travel restarting in Scotland from 17 May, Airport Operators Association Chief Executive Karen Dee said:
“Ending blanket hotel quarantine measures is a big step forward for Scotland. The Scottish Government’s decision to take a similar risk-based approach as the UK Government is also a vital step to ensuring a four-nation approach as travel restarts.
“Yet despite today’s announcement and Scotland’s successful vaccine rollout, a meaningful restart of aviation is not yet possible because there are so few countries on the green list.
“Aviation is essential to connect friends and families once again, to provide well-earned holidays, and for businesses to reach new and existing customers abroad. The Scottish Government must play its part by adding countries to the green list as soon as the local health situation allows and by introducing rapid, affordable tests for travellers.
“Pre-pandemic thousands of Scottish jobs were supported by aviation and tourism, so a full recovery must be a priority for the Scottish Government. They need to use the upcoming reviews to reduce restrictions for fully vaccinated people, just as the EU and the US are planning. This is particularly important for restarting the Scotland’s inbound tourism sector.”
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