London City Airport received its first commercial flight in nearly three months Sunday as Britain moved another step closer to fully emerging from its coronavirus lockdown on July 4.
The gateway to the once-bustling Canary Warf and City financial districts welcomed a short flight from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
The small turboprop plane’s landing and quick departure for its return leg was the only one scheduled – but officials could hardly sound more pleased.
“This clear early demand from our passengers to get back to flying is really encouraging,” airport chief executive Robert Sinclair said.
Initial routes will be domestic because of international travel restrictions and only a handful of destinations will be served in the first weeks.
London businesses are also unhappy with the government’s divisive decision to impose 14-day quarantines on most people arriving in Britain.
“Both blanket Foreign Office advice not to travel abroad and the mandatory two-week quarantine for all arrivals into the UK should be limited to the highest risk countries,” the London First business lobby said on the airport’s website.
Heathrow and London’s smaller Gatwick and Stansted airports remained partially open throughout the crisis.
– Two-metre battle –
Britain’s official death toll of 42,632 is Europe’s highest and third globally behind the United States and Brazil.
But health officials lowered the alert level to three on a five-point scale on Friday – a signal the government needed to take a more business-friendly approach.
British pubs and restaurants are most upset about a requirement for people to stay two meters (six feet) apart in public.
Business owners complain the restriction means they cannot seat enough people to make a profit.
The measure is also partially blamed for the government’s inability to reopen schools before the summer break.
British newspapers and business figures have been waging a war against it for weeks.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson – his approval ratings dropping as the economic toll of the health disaster climbs – is expected Tuesday to give the formal go-ahead for pubs and restaurants to start seating clients on July 4.
Some hair salons have also started taking bookings for July in anticipation.
But most will be watching to see what he has to say about the two-metre requirement – an issue that some critics view as emblematic of Johnson’s incongruous response to the crisis.
The Telegraph newspaper said Johnson will announce a “one metre plus” rule that allows people everywhere to stand closer together if they wear masks.