They include signs England may follow Scotland in returning to working from home amid warnings that another full lockdown would cost two million jobs.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury has weighed in on the debate around travel curbs, branding the UK’s red list restrictions "morally wrong".
Here are the key headlines travel woke up to on Wednesday 8 December.
Plan B preparations ‘being stepped up’
Whitehall has stepped up work on implementing plan B, which would include guidance on working from home and vaccine passports for nightclubs, indoor events of more than 500 people and outdoor ones attended by more than 4,000. Ministers were split on the potential use of compulsory vaccine certification during yesterday’s cabinet meeting, at which they were forced to confront the potential need to move to the government’s plan B. (The Times)
Christmas chaos looms if Plan B enacted
The spread of Omicron could force Boris Johnson to trigger Plan B within days, prompting fears that Christmas could be left in chaos for a second year. Scientists yesterday said the new Covid strain seems to be three times more infectious than previous variants. Plans to combat it are now being war-gamed by Downing Street. (The Sun)
Working From Home returns in Scotland
Boris Johnson has refused to rule out asking people in England to work from home in a bid to delay the spread of the Omicron variant after Nicola Sturgeon changed the guidance in Scotland. Every employer north of the border able to send staff home has been asked to do so for the next six weeks. (The i)
Another lockdown ‘will see jobless total reach 2 million’
Another Covid-19 lockdown due to the Omicron variant could result in unemployment rising to two million for the first time in seven years, leading economists have said. Experts also fear any restrictions that allow only essential shops to open may cost the UK economy £6 billion a month. (The i)
Former CMA boss slams ’scandalous’ travel testing regime
Former Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) chair Lord Tyrie has branded the PCR testing market for travel scandalous, raising a number of concerns about how the regime is operating. He said private companies were taking advantage of holidaymakers. (BBC News)
Archbishop says red list ‘morally wrong’
Bans on flights from red list countries are a form of ‘travel apartheid’, the Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday. Justin Welby criticised the UK’s red list ban on 11 African countries as ‘morally wrong and self-defeating’. His comments came as the World Health Organisation and top scientists hit out at travel restrictions as ‘pointless’ and ‘too late’ as ‘Omicron is already everywhere’. (The Daily Mail)
Fake vaccine certificates being sold online
Fake Covid passes, which could be used as proof of vaccination to enter the UK are being advertised in at least nine European countries via social media. They are capitalising on anti-vaccination sentiment across Europe and the increasing restrictions for unvaccinated people. (Sky News)
