As an update, American Airlines has issued the following statement regarding this:
“Complying with the required health and safety measures and entry requirements of the countries in which we operate is a priority for American. We apologize on this occasion that we misjudged what was allowed under the recent UK exemption guidelines. We take the intent of these regulations seriously and we have taken immediate corrective action to ensure we fully comply in the future.”
Well this sure is an interesting one…
American flies to London for 24 hours
An American Airlines sales executive posted on his LinkedIn about a 24 hour trip he took to London to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for American Airlines’ move to Heathrow Terminal 5, which happened this week. Here’s his full post, with names redacted:
Well that was a quick 24 hours in the UK!
This morning I attended the official ribbon cutting to mark American Airlines move to Terminal 5 at London Heathrow. It’s a beautiful facility and we are incredibly grateful to British Airways for enabling this to happen.
Many thanks to [name] for hosting and for my first business dinner in a while(!) as well as having a great catch-up with [name].
I will write in a post on Monday as to why Americans don’t necessarily need to spend 14 days in quarantine on arrival in the UK and also explain new forms that need to be completed prior to arrival both in the UK and the USA.
But for now, AA21 is taking me back home.
What’s the quarantine loophole here?
This American Airlines executive says he’ll write about “why Americans don’t necessarily need to spend 14 days in quarantine on arrival in the UK.”
I don’t know if I can wait until Monday to find out about his logic, so could someone please fill me in on what I’m missing? The UK is extremely specific when it comes to exceptions to the 14 day quarantine rule, and I don’t see anything on the list that would cover this trip.
Unless he’s moonlighting as a prison escort, aerospace engineer, or nuclear emergency responder, I’m not sure what he’s going off of here. A sales executive can’t in any way be classified as an airline crew member, and presumably he wasn’t just in the sterile transit area for his 24 hours there.
Meanwhile for those not exempt, here’s what you’re expected to do during your 14 day quarantine:
You should self-isolate in one place for the full 14 days, where you can have food and other necessities delivered, and stay away from others. You must self-isolate at the address you provided on the public health passenger locator form.
This can include:
- your own home
- staying with friends or family
- a hotel or other temporary accommodation
You should not have visitors, including friends and family, unless they are providing essential care. The only friends and family who you can have contact with are those who travelled with you or people who you are staying with.
You cannot go out to work or school or visit public areas. You should not go shopping. If you require help buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, you should ask friends or relatives or order a delivery.
Bottom line
I’m not meaning to blow this guy’s cover, but it also seems irresponsible to go to a country that explicitly has a 14 day quarantine, violate it, and then write about it and tell Americans that they don’t necessarily need to quarantine for 14 days.
So, what am I missing, folks?
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