Only handful of travellers expected to quarantine at Birmingham Airport

Travellers returning to the UK from certain countries will have to self-isolate in a Government-approved hotel for 10 days starting Monday.

Leaders in the West Midlands said a "very small number" of people are expected to arrive due to the reduced number of flights.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: "A number of hotels have been identified in the area of the airport but it has not become public knowledge yet which ones these area.

"The Government have actually worked with Solihull Council on this – they are expecting to work on this with the airport from Monday. A number of hotels have been identified in the area of the airport but it has not become public knowledge yet which ones these area.

"It's true to say the number of people arriving from red-list countries at Birmingham Airport is actually very low. Of course the number of flights into the airport is substantially down and there are not direct flights from the red-list countries. Our expectation is we will be dealing with a relatively small amount of people – the plans are currently being made to launch.

"It's a small number and I think Solihull would probably say they are confident in the arrangements they will make, and my personal view is that it's better that number however small – are in quarantine rather than straight into the community."

Birmingham has no direct flights on the "red routes" which include the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and South America. All of those services have been suspended.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Waheed Saleem said the expectation was that around 20 people a month would arrive at Birmingham Airport.

He said: "We are expecting about two per cent of those flights – so about 20 people a month is the planning, that's number of people coming from the red-list countries.

"So it's not going to be as much as other areas like Heathrow for example. In terms of policing, we're waiting for the detailed regulation from the Government and again very disappointed that once again that the new rules are coming in from Monday and the police are still waiting [to receive them] so they can plan the policing of this.

"However we do expect that the airport will be having their own security, so most of that policing – in terms of the hotel – will be done by security on site and the requirement is that individuals, before they travel back, they need to pre-book the travel between the airport and the designated hotel. They need to book the hotel and the testing packages before they land from wherever they're coming."

Mr Saleem said the Home Office had announced £2 million to support the policing surrounding the quarantine and officials were waiting to see how much the West Midlands will receive.