Some 15,000 travellers a day are still arriving on flights into the UK and not being tested for coronavirus.
People on flights from other virus-hit countries like Italy, the US and China are being admitted without any kind of health checks, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday.
He revealed that the equivalent of 105,000 people a week are flying in from all over the world.
The British government has not imposed any health checks or compulsory quarantine periods in for people arriving into UK airports.
People in the UK have been urged not to travel unless its essential, but the airports have not been closed down.
But Mr Hancock insisted that the flow of people coming to Britain will not make a significant difference, since the virus is already so widespread.
He said that routine screening of passengers arriving into UK airports isn’t happening because the number of people had “dropped very dramatically”.
Mr Hancock said: “At the current rate of transmission here, the scientists say that the epidemiological impact of keeping the travel open is very small, because there's already large transmission here.
“But what I want to do is see the transmission rates here come down, which is why following this guidance is so important.”
Earlier this week, Heathrow Airport said passenger numbers for March 2020 fell by 52 per cent compared with 2019, with demand for April expected to fall by 90%.
They’ve also made the decision to close down two terminals.
In a customer email, the airport said: “As part of Heathrow’s efforts to stay as safe as possible, airline operations will start to temporarily relocate from Terminals 3 and 4 to Terminals 2 and 5 from Thursday April 16, 2020.
"If you are travelling, please check our terminal guide for your airline.”
