TD Darren O’Rourke has called for flight advertisements to come with health warnings.
In a statement issued today, the Meath East TD said: “Airlines should be offering refunds or rescheduling for free while the pandemic restrictions remain in place, and travel insurance companies should be offering compensation to those who have lost money on cancelled holidays.
“In addition, airlines are now advertising flights to destinations across the world. This flies in the face of the current public health advice and only adds to the public’s confusion around foreign travel,” O’Rourke said.
“We believe a Covid-19 warning should be required on advertisements for flights to countries where the virus remains a serious threat.”
O’Rourke’s suggestion comes one day after it was revealed that 15 of 23 new Covid-19 cases in Ireland were travel-related. It also comes on the same day that American Airlines has announced it is resuming thrice weekly flights between Ireland and the USA. It is believed that there are just under two million active cases of Covid-19 in the USA.
While the National Public Health Emergency Team has repeatedly advised against non-essential travel overseas, only loose self-isolation restrictions are in place.
Travel from the US to the European Union is currently prohibited, but Ireland is not bound by the EU’s travel ban recommendation, as per page 2 footnote 2 of the Council Recommendation on the temporary restriction on non-essential
travel into the EU and the possible lifting of such restriction.
The Sinn Féin TD also criticised the government for its messaging on travel, saying: “The government’s contradictory approach to foreign travel to date has simply been unacceptable.
“Planes are permitted to arrive and depart, but the advice from the government is for citizens not to travel.”
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