UK Aviation Minister defends closure of travel corridors

The UK's aviation minister on Saturday defended the government's tightening of the country's borders to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Robert Courts said from Monday, all international passengers arriving in Britain will be required to quarantine as well as present a negative COVID-19 test result.

Courts said the measures were needed to ensure new variants of the virus did not arrive from abroad during the country's vaccination program.

"We've taken the view that now is right time, as we're looking at the data, to take extra steps in order to lay an extra level of assurance on the measures that we have, with regards to safety for people who are coming into the country," he said.

However, Courts rejected claims that the UK's measures, which included travel corridors to allow people to travel to certain countries without quarantine, had been too lax.

"We have, across the world when you look at it, we actually have quite a stringent procedure," he said, comparing the UK's measures to those of Canada and South Korea.

He added: We actually have a strong, robust set of measures, and I have confidence in those.

Courts also acknowledged that the move may cause upset for the aviation and travel industries, and said that travel would be opened up again "as soon as we are able...in a safe manner.

(IMAGE CREDITS:Twitter/@robertcourts)