Portugal easyJet director living in an alternative reality
Airlines, airports and travel industry in general live in a different world to everyone else. They talk of back to business as usual, airports expanding.
Covid-19 has opened up another now. There is no return to normal as normal was not normal, mass tourism was killing the planet. People have become used to bird song, streets traffic free, cities pollution free. They are not going to give this up without a fight.
Aviation a major contributor to global warming, has spread covid-19 around the world, therefore within this context the comments by director general of Easyjet in Portugal José Lopes objecting to quarantine for arrivals into the country beggars belief.
The director general of Easyjet in Portugal José Lopes has said that the resumption of the company’s activity in Portugal is very dependent on the elimination of the quarantine imposed on passengers arriving in Madeira and therefore suggested “the elimination of these barriers to connectivity “.
Portugal, together with Greece, one of the few countries in Europe to have acted promptly and contained coronavirus. José Lopes wishes to throw this all away.
José Lopes is not alone in expressing these sentiments, UK Airlines has come out with similar comments. Objecting to quarantine, claiming aviation vital to the UK economy.
What has been the economic cost of coronavirus pandemic, of wild fires in Australia, of floods in England?
Airlines, tour companies, and tourism industry, live in a different reality to the rest of us.
Not satisfied with trashing the planet then spread covid-19 around the world, they are now objecting to quarantine for arrivals into a country.
When other countries closed borders, closed airports, and where open were screening passengers, UK did not. Inbound flights from coronavirus hotspots from around the world, no screening, hop straight onto public transport. Very late in the day, consideration of quarantine, though in reality not quarantine, self-isolation.
At the weekend a friend travelled from Spain to Cyprus via Germany. On arrival at Larnaca she was taken into quarantine. She did not object, even though she has gone from lock down in Spain to quarantine in Cyprus, as she sees that it is necessary to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Covid-19 may have arisen in China, airlines spread it around the world.
Airlines are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.
There is no going back to normal as normal was not normal.
We cannot have a third runway at Heathrow, a second runway at Gatwick, airport expansion.
We have to live within the limits of the planet, one of those limits is the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. We have to reach zero carbon by 2035.
In the future we will have pandemics, we have to be prepared, stop them spreading rapidly around the world.
Aviation contributes little to the economy. We have seen how fragile our supply chains, how easily pandemics are spread around the world.
We have to relocate manufacturing within our own borders, grow our own food.
