Weary and bedraggled, the first set of quarantiners from France began arriving at Gatwick airport at 10.20am today, missing the UK deadline to get back by a handful of hours. A mix of fury, resignation and confusion descended on the north terminal as five flights from the south of France arrived within an hour.
“How does it make sense?” asked Reda, who had spent two weeks in Bordeaux with his wife Elodie and their five-year-old daughter, Sara. “Either you allow people proper time to stagger getting back or you say quarantine is effective immediately. A 12- or 24-hour deadline just means that 100,000 people rushed back one day earlier than us, they’re more high risk because of that, and we are in quarantine and they’re out in open spaces.”
From 4am on Saturday, every person entering Britain from France must fill out a public health passenger locator form, detailing their journey, contact details and next of kin before quarantining for two weeks. Reda and Elodie admitted that their jobs – in finance and retail – were a worry, but that they had been willing to take the risk of travel in order to see family in France.
Ghazi, 44, a doctor, and his pregnant fiancee Lorraine, 36, a management consultant, on the other hand were devastated. “We’re getting married in three weeks and my family from France can no longer come,” said Lorraine, despondent at how their situation had panned out. The couple had spent a week in Bordeaux with friends and kept a close eye on the news but found it impossibly expensive and impractical to rush back.
“The wedding is hitting us hard but it’s the inconsistency and lack of clarity from government about what’s going on that is frustrating,” said Ghazi. “Lots of people don’t understand the rules and who will enforce them.”
Both shook their heads when asked if they had faith in fellow holidaymakers behaving as good citizens. “People are more respectful with social distancing here,” said Lorraine, “but no, I don’t have faith. We will stick to the rules, but I know lots of people won’t or can’t.”
For Angela Langridge, a nursery nurse from Brighton, the week’s holiday in La Rochelle with her 11-year-old son had been worth it even if it meant that the two-week quarantine would come out of her holiday allowance for the following year. “I should be starting work on Monday but we had already missed our holiday to Spain so we thought we’d give France a go,” she said. Worrying “about sanity” over the coming fortnight was an issue.
“My son is a skateboarder so it’s a big thing to be shut up for two weeks. We don’t have a garden … but we have Wii Fit [a video game] and friends and family offering to do food deliveries,” she said. Neither mother nor son were worried about the prospect of having coronavirus as “the risk doesn’t feel higher in France than it already is in the UK”.
One husband and wife returning from Nice, who did not want to give their names, said they would try to stick to the rules but were confused about “how much we’re allowed to go outside”. An explanation that no outdoor exercise was permitted, unless in one’s garden, and that guests were strictly forbidden did not sit well. “We can’t be locked up in a one-bed like that,” said the wife, “it’s not possible.”
Unwilling to accept the risks of travelling during a global pandemic, her husband said he could work from home but insisted it was “unfair”. Looking for their car parking stub to drive back to Crawley, they both looked aghast.
Sisters Flora and Polly Belcher, 15 and 12, were somewhat more clued up and relaxed about the situation. “It seems a bit useless to quarantine as we were in a villa in such a secluded area of Biarritz, so it feels like a bummer, but it is life and we’re living through weird times so it’s sort of to be expected,” said Flora. Both were disappointed to “lose the last bit of summer” but felt the trip had been worth it anyway. “We went out about twice to eat, we went to the beach but it was a just chill holiday to get away from everything,” said Polly.
The relief at having temporarily escaped home seemed to outweigh the reality of isolating on their return for most holidaymakers who spoke to The Observer. But in the case of Kristian Claxton, a 30-year-old social worker from Cambridge, arriving in London from Basel on Sunday, the sting was especially sharp.
“We went to Switzerland for two weeks,” he explained, “and the airport we’re flying home from [EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg] has 200m to 300m of it technically on French soil. So we’re going through Swiss customs but still have to quarantine when we get back.”
Claxton proposed to his girlfriend on the holiday so he felt it was all still worth it, albeit a farcical twist to their engagement. “I get why [the government are] doing it but our airport was only updated once the deadline had passed. EasyJet didn’t have a clue. We had thought we were fine and now, stupidly, we will be in quarantine.” He and his fiancee, who live in Cambridge, said they would be strict adherents to the rules even though family were keen to celebrate their news. “It’s a first-world problem,” said Claxton, “there are lot of more worrying things going on, but it’s still frustrating.”