London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

COVID-19: Stranded British travellers face spending Christmas in quarantine hotels

COVID-19: Stranded British travellers face spending Christmas in quarantine hotels

A shortage of rooms designated for isolation on return from red-list countries means Britons having to extend their stays abroad - adding to costs and stress.

British travellers in South Africa face the prospect of spending Christmas in quarantine hotels as there are not enough rooms to accommodate the number of people currently trying to return.

Many also face costs amounting to thousands of pounds as they are forced to re-book flights and extend their stays around the limited room availability.

One woman has been told there are no rooms free until 22 December and other families who have found themselves stranded have described the sudden change of rules and quarantine hotel booking system as "chaotic" and "not fit for purpose".

Hannah Pickersgill (far right) travelled to South Africa with her family for a wedding


They accuse the government of being totally unprepared to support those caught out by the changes.

Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called on the government to address the situation urgently.

South Africa and nine other countries in southern Africa were re-added to the travel red list this week to try and tackle the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid19.

Direct flights from South Africa were initially banned a week ago.

Travellers arriving from red list countries have to isolate in designated quarantine hotels for 10 days at their own expense.

But many are now saying they cannot get a booking on the day their flights are due.

Passengers can be fined £4000 for arriving in the UK from a red list country without a quarantine hotel booking already in place.

"It's been awful, just awful" says Teresa Martin who is from South Africa originally and travelled out to spend time with her elderly mother who she has not seen for two years.

She was supposed to return on 8 December but her husband, who called the booking management company on her behalf from the UK, has now been told there is no availability until 22 December.

It will mean she would have to spend Christmas and New Year in a quarantine hotel.

"The trip itself has been emotional already" she said.

"This turbulence of the booking and the flight changing and then arranging, finding out where you get your PCR tests and driving 10 miles to go and book it. It takes its toll."

She has the added extra worry that if she has to stay in South Africa that long she may run out of medication she takes for rheumatoid arthritis.

On top of the stress and emotion families are also facing huge bills.

A 10-day stay in a quarantine hotel costs £2,285 for one adult in one room, with an extra £1,430 per adult and £325 per child aged 5-11 in the same room.

Many are also having to pay to rearrange flights to try and match with the days where there is hotel availability, plus pay for extended hotel days in South Africa.

That is the situation faced by Hannah Pickersgill and her family, who travelled to Cape Town for a family wedding with her husband, two children, mother and brother.

She was due to fly back on 4 December but could only get a hotel from 6 December. She has then struggled to rearrange her flights for that date due to the high demand.

"It means my children won't go back to school now until January, my son is getting quite distressed about it," she said.

"It's made my mum very ill. She's extremely stressed. And we've wasted a lot of time and money trying to sort it out.

"I can't really highlight enough… the incompetence of not having enough hotel rooms for travellers coming back."

She and others have also criticised Corporate Travel Management (CTM) the private company contracted to manage hotel bookings, with many saying they have struggled to get through on the phone.

Nic Bowler and his family are facing similar challenges. They have already had to move their flights back a week but they still have not secured any quarantine accommodation and do not know if they will be out in time for Christmas.

"I fully understand it's a pandemic, I fully understand that things change," he said.

"But the process that the government has prescribed is just not fit for purpose, and it is stressful because it really is eating into family time."

While there are in excess of 4,000 quarantine rooms available, the system is not as large as it was during the summer when more countries were on the red list.

The Arora Hotel group at that time provided around 2,500 rooms in eight different hotels but is currently only offering around 1,500 rooms across three hotels.

Founder and chairman Surinder Arora said that it took a huge effort from his staff to get these hotels prepared and ready in just a few days following the sudden announcement last week.

"I think if you were to ask one of the big brands or one of the larger companies, they'd say to you we need at least a week or two to mobilise," he said.

Turning a hotel around involves things like getting specialist cleaning equipment in, clearing existing bookings and massively ramping up room service capabilities.

"A lot of planning goes into it and you know, especially in the current climate when you can't even get all your deliveries in on time, whether it be laundry, whether it be food, staffing, all those are big issues," Mr Arora said.

Hotel owner Surinder Arora has been providing quarantine hotel rooms


A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are rapidly expanding hotel capacity in light of 10 counties being added to the red list, and there will be significant increases to capacity from Monday onwards."

CTM said in a statement: "CTM is working closely with the 10 countries recently added to the red list where direct flights to the UK were initially banned.

"Frequent cancellations by airlines and the return of direct flights are also resulting in a high number of change requests from travellers returning to the UK.

"Since the recent changes to the red list implemented to slow the spread of the new Omicron variant, over 2,800 travellers have successfully booked managed quarantine.

"CTM is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and all relevant parties in the UK Managed Quarantine programme to ensure transfers, accommodation, testing and security are increased in line with capacity as quickly as possible."

Labour's Yvette Cooper said: "The government needs to sort this urgently.

"They should not be in such a chaotic situation 18 months into this pandemic when they have known all along they needed rapid contingency plans to deal with new waves of the virus or new variants."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×