Travellers face three-hour delays due to Covid checks

Some said it took them up to three hours to get through arrivals while the Covid response team has reportedly been impressed with a two-hour turnaround.

Jenny Brouard and her husband live in Essex, and flew to the island to visit her parents. She said she was surprised at the situation she encountered at the airport, plus the waiting and processing times.

It took them an hour to get through, despite having taken tests and having the correct paperwork. Initially, her Travel Tracker advice was that she would have to isolate before the tracker cleared.

She said that the issues she and her husband experienced could put people off coming to the island again.

‘I’ve told so many friends to come to Guernsey and about 10 sets have come over for a week or two, but now there are so many obstacles in your way. There’s a lot of hoops for people. It’s too much and you’re stressed before you start.’

Mrs Brouard said two flights from the UK arrived at the same time. Many passengers needed help with the landing requirements, which caused delays and only one member of the welcome team was on duty.

Mrs Brouard was not the only person having issues. ‘I could see loads of people starting to get a little bit upset,’ she said. However, she intends to return to the island in December.

Richard Evans, Covid-19 response programme director for the States, said that with Condor Ferries now regularly bringing more than 100 cars to the island, vehicles checks would naturally take time.

‘Whether two hours is too long is for people to judge, but our teams do it as fast as they can,’ he said.

Mr Evans said the time it took to help passengers depended on how many of them arrived without completing the Travel Tracker.

‘We have a very busy welcome team who do their best to help all passengers as quickly as possible, but avoiding delay is the main reason all pre-travel information and website guidance recommends passengers complete the Travel Tracker before travelling,' he said.