UK Arrivals Face Jail and Large Fines for Breaking Travel Rules

UK Arrivals Face Jail and Large Fines for Breaking Travel Rules.

UK’S Health Secretary as announced today (February 9) that UK and Irish residents returning from coronavirus hotspots face fines of up to £10,000 and 10-year jail sentences if they break new travel rules.

Matt Hancock announced that travellers from red list countries will have to pay £1,750 for 10 days hotel quarantine – this covers the cost of accommodation, transport and testing –  Mr Hancock also stated that the policy applied to England but the devolved administrations were looking at similar measures.

4,600 hotel rooms have been booked so far which is some way short of 28,000 the government is looking for. To book a quarantine hotel, people must use an online government portal.

People who lie about travelling from the 33 ‘red list’ countries on their passenger locator form will face a prison sentence of up to 10 years and those who fail to quarantine in hotels will also face fines of up to £10,000.

The health secretary told MPs: “People who flout these rules are putting us all at risk.

“Passenger carriers will have a duty in law to make sure that passengers have signed up for these new arrangements before they travel, and will be fined if they don’t, and we will be putting in place tough fines for people who don’t comply.

“This includes a £1,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take a mandatory test, a £2,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take the second mandatory test, as well as automatically extending their quarantine period to 14 days, and a £5,000 fixed penalty notice – rising to £10,000 – for arrivals who fail to quarantine in a designated hotel.”

He also confirmed a new “enhanced testing” regime for all international travellers would also begin on Monday, with two tests required during the quarantine process.

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