Thread by @JoePajak

Fact: 447,300 air passenger arrivals to UK in Apr 2021 (Advanced Passenger Information data).

4 times higher than total number of air arrivals for Apr 2020, following start of first UK lockdown, when there were 112,300 arrivals.

Question: Why?

Detail ⬇️
gov.uk/government/sta…

https://twitter.com/JoePajak/status/1396380135893385218

'The numbers in every month since April 2020 remain substantially lower than levels seen prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK, averaging 89% lower over the 12 months following the onset of the pandemic.'

But like for like, comparing pandemic 2020 travel with now in 2021?

Fig.1 shows there were fewer than 200,000 air arrivals per month between Apr & Jun 2020, following the start of the first UK lockdown. Then a slight increase in the summer months of 2020, reaching a summer high of 3.1 million arrivals in Aug 2020, 74% lower than for Aug. 2019.

Key

1) 23 Mar 2020: UK first lockdown announced.

To...

7) 15 Feb 2021: Begin Managed Quarantine, which requires arrivals to England from “red list” countries, from British or Irish nationals or residents of the UK, to book an isolation package at government approved facility.

'API data primarily relate to passengers coming to the UK via commercial aviation routes. The data do not include those arriving by sea or rail routes, by private aircraft or via the Common Travel Area. Figures for more recent periods in particular, may be subject to revision.'

@YvetteCooperMP

'447,300 air passenger arrivals to the UK in April 2021 (from Advanced Passenger Information (API) data). This is four times (298%) higher than total number of air arrivals for April 2020'.

Unbelievable! In a pandemic! Each one a risk.

gov.uk/government/sta…