The scenes followed the reintroduction of the government’s travel traffic-light system which has led to most regions of the UK and Crown Dependencies being classed as green, meaning that passengers only have to self-isolate until they receive a negative result from their first test.
The whole of the UK had previously been classed as red, with arrivals forced to isolate until they had received a negative result from their day-ten test.
Around 3,000 passengers are due to pass through the Airport this week – the highest figure in months.
Passenger figures for the week are expected to peak on Friday when 1,000 people are due to travel on flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Southampton.
Before the pandemic, an average April day would see 5,000 people pass through the Airport.
One family reunited yesterday was Robin and Sarah Hutchinson, travelling with their son Finn (4) from Heathrow, to see Robin’s parents, Graeme and Janis Hutchinson.
‘It has been a really long time since we were here – August last year. We have been stuck in London and the young one has been really wanting to come here to see granny and granddad,’ Mr Hutchinson said.
‘I am from Jersey but I am living in London at the moment which works fine but only when you can get home.
‘It makes it a lot harder when you have got a little one who is desperate to see his grandparents and cannot understand why he cannot see them. There seemed to be a lot of other people with children in the six-to-nine-month-old range on the flight.’
Meanwhile, Louis Thebault, who was born in Jersey but lives in Camberley in Surrey, said it would not have been possible to come to Jersey if the traffic-light system had not been reintroduced.
‘I have not seen my parents for about eight or nine months so I am coming to see my family but also to get out of the UK,’ he said. ‘I would not have been able to come here if the restrictions had stayed in place, as I could not have got the time off work. It would have been a bit of a hassle.’
But it was not only people coming to see relatives and friends who disembarked yesterday. There were also those who, taking advantage of the eased restrictions, had booked a holiday.
Philip Bent, who arrived from Hackney with his wife, Jane, said: ‘We were looking for somewhere to go and we have had so many things cancelled. My wife has been here on business before and I love it here, having been here a few times.
‘The easing of the restrictions was pivotal in us coming. We are going to The Atlantic as we want to be served, looked after and pampered for a few days. As soon as we found out we could come here without isolating [for a long time], we booked a flight.’
Sara Farber, from Wandsworth in London, was coming to Jersey to visit her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, having been unable to see them since August.
‘They were living with us for two years but left in August and I had not expected there to be such a long gap until we were able to see each other again,’ she said.
‘As soon as I saw that the restrictions were changing I booked the first available flight. I did not wait to see whether I would be classed as green or not. The flight seemed completely full.’
