The Heathrow Airport in London on Wednesday refused to allow extra flights from India, two days before the country is added to the United Kingdom’s travel “red-list” due to concerns about a mutation of the coronavirus detected there, the BBC reported.
Beginning Friday, all arrivals from India, except for British or Irish citizens, will be refused entry into the UK. British and Irish citizens will have to pay to stay in a UK government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days on their return.
Presently, 30 flights operate between India and the UK in a week. However, four air carriers had requested the Heathrow Airport to allow eight more flights from India as travellers wanted to reach the UK before the new rules came into effect.
Heathrow Airport told the BBC that it refused airlines’ request for extra flights because it was worried about long lines at passport control. The airport said that it did not want to add to the existing pressures at the border by allowing…