A report in the Mail on Sunday says that former Etihad boss James Hogan, has been caught red handed avoiding quarantine in the UK by failing to declare that he had visited Abu Dhabi a ‘red list’ country and swapping his passports to enter the UK.
The report goes on to say that Mr Hogan, who has rather a reputation for being outspoken, is reported to have boasted about his plan to swap passports to try to avoid 10 days in UK quarantine, with the Mail on Sunday claiming that Mr Hogan was stopped on March 19 after a whistle-blower who had learnt of his travel plans tipped off a British Embassy.
It is believed after Mr Hogan was caught, Hogan was immediately escorted to a quarantine hotel, where he self-isolated for the mandatory ten days, but could now face a ‘heavy fine’.
[map credit: the Mail on Sunday.]
Mr Hogan has joint British and Australian citizenship and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017.
The Mail on Sunday says that a source said: ‘It’s outrageous. A lot of people are shocked and angry that individuals like this who really should know better are breaking the rules.’
There were 137 new infections per 100,000 people in the UAE last week compared to 23 per 100,000 in the UK.
Since February 15, those travelling to the UK who have visited a ‘red list’ country in the previous ten days must self-isolate in a hotel for ten days at a cost of £1,750.
Sources with knowledge of Mr Hogan’s travel plans claim that he flew from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, to Switzerland on March 17 on an Etihad flight using his Australian passport, with Knighthood Capital, a business advisory firm he founded after leaving Etihad in 2017, having offices in both Abu Dhabi and Geneva, with Hogan having stayed in Switzerland for two days before flying home on a British Airways flight on March 19 and it is understood that he used his British passport for that leg of the journey.
He is not, however, believed to have declared that he had been in the UAE on the mandatory ‘passenger locator form’ that all people travelling to the UK must submit at least 48 hours before they arrive.
One source said: ‘He seems to have flown into UAE on his Australian passport and when heading back, via Switzerland, the Australian passport was switched back to a British passport.’
The report goes on to say that unbeknown to Mr Hogan, however, his movements were being tracked and he was intercepted by Border Force officers when he arrived at Heathrow with Mail on Sunday understanding that a whistle-blower in either the UAE or Switzerland contacted a British Embassy after hearing Mr Hogan boast about his travel arrangements, with the Foreign Office officials believed to have passed the intelligence on to the Border Force, which launched a probe.
Officials are also thought to be examining whether Mr Hogan also breached quarantine rules after a trip to the UAE in February.
The Mail on Sunday says Mr Hogan declined to respond to repeated requests for comment, with his wife, speaking at their £2 million home in Windsor on Friday, saying, “He is actually in London at the moment. I can’t answer your questions.”
A Home Office spokesman said, We are in a global health pandemic. People should not be travelling unless absolutely necessary and it is unacceptable, and illegal, to avoid hotel quarantine”, adding, “Those who seek to do so can receive a fine of up to £10,000” and “Border Force is checking every single passenger to ensure they are complying with health measures at the border, to protect the British public and UK vaccine rollout from variants of concern”, adding, “Passengers who still attempt to avoid quarantine can be subject to further action from the police, including arrest for breaching the Covid regulations”.
An edited report from the Mail on Sunday by John Alwyn-Jones, Special Correspondent Aviation, Travel and Tourism
