London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Daughter forced into London hotel quarantine after mum dies in Manchester

Daughter forced into London hotel quarantine after mum dies in Manchester

A midwife returning to the UK after her mother’s death will have to isolate for 10 days in a London hotel because there is no approved accommodation in Manchester.

Clare Davis, 44, said the Government’s quarantine arrangements are ‘inhumane’ as she returned from the United Arab Emirates after her grandmother passed away on Saturday.

She had wanted to travel directly to Manchester but has found that no accommodation is available, so she will have to spend 10 days in a hotel near Heathrow.

Clare, who spent a decade working for the NHS before moving to Abu Dhabi, told Metro.co.uk she had to rebook her flight because of the rules.

Her mother, Joan, 68, passed away in North Manchester Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The ex-pat discovered the news unexpectedly at the weekend after returning from a night shift to a message from a carer who had been looking after her mother, asking her to call back urgently.

Clare said: ‘I was unable to get a direct flight into the UK. I had booked a flight into Manchester assuming that because it’s the third biggest airport in the UK Government quarantine would be available, but when I found out there were no hotels I had to cancel the flight.

‘I didn’t get the money back, only a voucher. I then booked another flight to Heathrow and paid the £1,750 for the hotel.

Critics have questioned why there is no Government-approved hotel provision for travellers from ‘red list’ countries arriving at Manchester Airport


‘I’m an only child and I will have to go and grieve in the hotel for ten days. Even at the best times you would struggle with anxiety in that situation but at this time there are a plethora of issues.

‘I contacted the British Embassy who said there are no exemptions for bereavement and end-of-life care and it is down to the Department for Health in the UK.’

Clare said she has returned 25 consecutive negative Covid tests under weekly testing in the UAE, which is on the ‘red list’ of 33 countries from where passengers must go into quarantine on arrival in England.

The mother-of-four flew into Frankfurt, Germany, and is due to land at Heathrow tonight, from where she will be escorted to the Radisson Blu Edwardian, where other travellers are in the first week of quarantine.

Clare, originally from Manchester, said she will be dropped back to Heathrow after the isolation period, from where she can make her onward journey.

Some travellers arrving in London from ‘red list’ countries are spending their mandatory hotel quarantine at the Radisson Blu hotel


She said: ‘The last few days I have not been able to grieve at all because I’ve been fighting to get back. I have paid for two flights and while it’s not about the money, what if I couldn’t afford the extra costs?

‘It makes no sense when Manchester is the biggest airport outside of London. I looked at Birmingham because it was closer but there were no flights so I had to book for Heathrow.

‘There’s no helplines, they don’t respond to emails and there’s no infrastructure to support it.

‘It’s inhumane, because to grieve is one thing, but to grieve in an isolated hotel room away from your family where I’ve got no control over my mum’s final arrangements is another.

‘I don’t know what will happen with seeing my mum one last time or with the funeral arrangements. I’m just fighting to get to the end of it.’

A man holds a sign behind a window of the Radisson Blu Hotel at Heathrow Airport as Britain introduces hotel quarantine for arrivals from ‘red list’ countries


Criticism has been levelled at the Government over the lack of northern quarantine facilities.

Passengers from red list countries headed for England can only travel to Heathrow, Gatwick, London City Airport, Birmingham Airport, Farnborough Airport or any military airfield or port.

Dr Steven Freudmann, Chairman of the Institute of Travel and Tourism, told Metro.co.uk yesterday that it is ‘yet another example’ of the Government failing ‘to think of the details’.

Manchester Airport remains open for freight activity and essential travel for those not returning from countries on the list.

A spokesperson said: ‘We continue to work closely with the Government to understand how the managed quarantine policy might be implemented, and the process for handling “red list” passengers travelling through our airport.’

The official Government website states that ‘other ports of entry may be added in the future’.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×