The Civil Aviation Authority has issued 630 fines in the past 12 weeks to airlines for flying passengers to England without checking that they had the correct COVID documentation.
The fines are ‘part of the UK’s tough border measures to protect the UK as the vaccine rollout continues’, the Department for Transport said.
Passengers must provide a proof of a negative COVID-19 test and complete a passenger locator form (PLF) or face a £500 fine, and carriers are obliged to ensure passengers have the correct documentation before they arrive in England.
Airlines can be fined £2,000 for each passenger they carry without a valid Pre-Departure Test Certificate, plus £2,000 for each passenger without a completed PLF with the correct test booking reference number for managed quarantine or mandatory testing.
They can also be fined £4,000 for failing to provide the correct information to passengers before departure and during the journey informing them of their requirements, and £2,000 for flying passengers who have been in a red list country in the previous 10 days to a non-designated port.
The Civil Aviation Authority has issued 630 fines since 11 February 2021 to airlines carrying passengers without the right documents.
The DfT said: “Border Force is currently checking every individual coming into the country, no matter where they have come from, and will continue to carry out thorough checks at the border to keep the public safe.”
