Government defends regional travel policy

Friday 04 September 2020

The Government has defended its new regional travel policy after travellers and travel companies complained that it had thrown plans into chaos with little time to react.

The new regional classification system was announced last week, and implemented on Wednesday this week - a notice period that many said was too short.

The move meant that 807 travellers who had booked to come to the island received requests from the Government of Jersey requesting that they resubmit their pre-departure registration forms.

The Government said it started contacting individuals over the weekend, but Express has been made aware of individuals who only got the request on Wednesday - when the rules were put in place.

Speaking about the pre-departure registration form changes, a Government of Jersey spokesperson explained that “people who were due to travel to the Island from the UK, Ireland or France between Thursday 3 September and Thursday 10 September and who had completed the form before 5pm on Friday 28 August, have been asked to re-submit their pre-travel registration forms. 

“In total, 807 people need to re-submit their forms, out of a potential 13,000 who could travel to the Island in the same period. Staff from the Coronavirus Helpline team began contact Islanders by telephone and by email. This began over the weekend.”

Pictured: The new rules require those coming from 'amber' zones to quarantine for five days following their initial test. 

The requests come following the addition of the UK, Ireland and France to the Government’s regional ‘Traffic Light System’, which was established on 14 August – the additions were announced on 27 August and put in place on Wednesday 2 September.

The system splits countries into colour coded regions with different restrictions. The colours and rules are: 

• Regions rated green - PCR test on day 0. No requirement to self-isolate.
• Regions rated amber - PCR test on day 0 and one five days later. Self-isolation until a second negative test result.
• Regions rated red - PCR test on day 0 followed by mandatory 14 day self-isolation.

The Government says that “countries and regions are assessed on a regular basis and changed according to the level of risk. Regions will be risk-assessed using a 14-day notification rate that is calculated directly from each country’s official data sources.” 

One islander, who wished to remain anonymous, told Express they are “reluctant to ask friends based in regions which are currently ‘green’ to visit, as by the time that they come to Jersey their regions may then be ‘amber’ or ‘red’ and they would have to cancel their trip.

“One of the most annoying aspects is that people who live 100 metres apart in London may be treated completely differently because they live in different boroughs which have different classifications.” 

Another example of those affected was reported in the Liverpool Echo, where a couple who had booked to come over for four days were forced to cancel when they realised the five-day quarantine would leave them with no holiday at all. 

Pictured: Liverpool is one of the regions currently classified as 'amber.'

However, when they approached Easyjet for a refund, the company said they had not heard about the new rules and would be charging a fee to reschedule. 

Talking about the “disappointing” response, Michael Mcallister, one half of the couple, said that the £132 fee to change flights was “unreasonable.”

EasyJet later responded by saying they were reviewing their schedule, but that “customers with bookings in the next 30 days and who no longer wish to travel can transfer their flights without a change fee or receive a voucher for the value of their booking.”

Locally, CI Travel Group Director Robert Mackenzie expressed frustrations about the tight turnaround, saying there hadn't been enough consultation with industry.

It’s now 5 days since our CM @John_Le_Fondre announced at the @GovJersey press conference that they were liaising with travel co.’s regarding Jersey’s new regional travel policy. With less than 4 hrs until it’s introduced we are still waiting... so frustrating.

— Robert Mackenzie (@MackenzieJersey) September 1, 2020

Mr Mackenzie declined to comment further when contacted by Express other than to say that he was “working with Government now to answer the many questions we have on the new regional quarantine policy and how it will be managed operationally.”

A Government spokesperson commented: “The Government began its engagement with the travel industry ahead of the introduction of regionalisation on 14 August. We understand that the policy restricts some people’s travel to Jersey and we look forward to welcoming them back as soon as possible.  

“However, the health of Islanders is our priority and we will continue to put this first. Our regionalisation policy ensures we manage the risk of infection coming into Jersey while continuing to support the economy, and enable friends and family to visit.” 

They added that “Ports of Jersey has been in contact with its transport providers to advise them of the new regulations and have shared with them the appropriate links to GoJ website pages.”