These are the key questions about what the UK’s first blanket quarantine policy will mean for your travel plans.

What is happening?

Starting on 8 June, most travellers travelling to the UK by air, sea or rail will be expected to fill in an online form with a range of details in advance. They must give the address at which they will self-isolate for 14 days, and provide contact details for a follow up.

Spot checks on arrival will be carried out to ensure the online form has been completed. The rules apply to returning holidaymakers as well as foreign visitors to the UK.

The home secretary, Priti Patel, said: “As the world begins to emerge from what we hope is the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, we must look to the future and protect the British public by reducing the risk of cases crossing our border.

“We are introducing these new measures now to keep the transmission rate down and prevent a devastating second wave.

“I fully expect the majority of people will do the right thing and abide by these measures. But we will take enforcement action against the minority of people who endanger the safety of others.”

Ms Patel declined to answer a question about whether summer holidays had now been cancelled, but said: “This is absolutely not about booking holidays.

“We’re not advising when it comes to travel.”

Her announcement has immediate effect of deterring British holidaymakers from going abroad.

The travel industry believes that no significant fresh outbound sales will be made while the open-ended prospect remains of a fortnight’s mandatory self-isolation on return.

The move comes just as travel businesses were aiming to restart operations. The timing will defeat Project Lift-off, and instead trigger the widespread cancellation of flights and holidays while stifling new bookings.

Quarantine will also wipe out inbound tourism and business travel for the early part of the summer.

What are the mechanics?

Every arriving traveller will be presumed to be carrying Covid-19.

The Home Office says: “Information will be available to incoming travellers, including on the government’s social distancing guidelines, through messaging and announcements in flight and leaflets and posters on arrival.

“Through the new online locator contact form all arriving passengers will need to provide details of their self-isolation accommodation.

“If this does not meet the necessary requirements – such as hotels, or with friends or family – they will be required to self-isolate in facilities arranged by the government.”

How do I get home from the airport: will the government provide safe transport?

No, the current advice will continue to apply: you should ideally travel home in a car driven by someone from the household where you will self-isolate. Many travellers, though, are likely to use taxis or public transport.

How tight is the lockdown?

The Home Office says travellers should not go to work, school or to any public areas, or use public transport or taxis.

“They should not have visitors, including friends and family, unless they are providing essential support,” officials say.

“They should not go out to buy food or other essentials where they can rely on others.”

How will quarantine be enforced?

Public-health officials can telephone or call at the nominated address at any time during the 14 days. If the traveller is not at home or out with a valid excuse, a £1,000 fixed penalty notice will be issued in England.

The administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will decide their own level of fines.

Fines in England could increase if the risk of infection from abroad increases, the home secretary warned.

But the Metropolitan Police Federation has told The Independent that officers do not have the resources to enforce quarantine.

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, has predicted: “People will simply ignore something which is so hopelessly defective.”

How long will the quarantine policy remain in place?

No one knows. The conditions that the government cites as justification for the policy are likely to prevail for many months. So logically quarantine should remain in place for the rest of the year.

But the government has promised to review the policy every three weeks.

With medical justification for quarantine at this stage so sketchy, and the economic and emotional harm the policy will cause so intense, it is thought unlikely to last more than six weeks – at least before some arrangements are brought in to allow British travellers to visit the most popular countries.

Six weeks would take the policy to Monday 20 July, which coincides with the start of the holidays for many schools in England and Wales.

Created with Sketch.

Created with Sketch.

Who is exempt?

Travellers within the Common Travel Area, covering the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, will be exempt.

Note that there is no “backdoor” loophole to reach the UK via Ireland, as the republic has its own 14-day quarantine.

Some essential professions, including truck drivers and “medical professionals who are travelling to help with the fight against coronavirus” will also escape the obligation to remain at home for two weeks.

One apparent omission is airline flight crew. The Independent is seeking clarification from the Home Office.

Seasonal agricultural workers who will self-isolate on the property where they are working are also able to avoid the measure.

Last-minute discussions are going on within government about whether to grant exemption to elite sportsmen and women.

International transit passengers arriving at Heathrow will be able to make connections as normal.

Won’t it cause huge queues on arrival?

No, because the present number of travellers coming into the UK – currently around 7,000 per day, mostly into Heathrow – will dwindle to almost zero.

Any UK-bound traveller who feels quarantine is not for them can simply arrange to arrive in Britain before the end of the month.

Is there an option to take a test on arrival, and so skip quarantine?

No. While other countries have deployed this strategy, the UK will not offer that possibility. Nor will Covid-19 certificates issued by foreign countries ahead of the journey be accepted in lieu of self-isolation.

I have a holiday booked this summer and can’t handle a fortnight of self-isolation when I return. Can I cancel?

You can cancel, but legally you are not entitled to a refund. If the travel firm or airline can safely operate your trip and bring you back to the UK, they have fulfilled their contract. The fact that you would then need to self-isolate is not their problem.

But the travel industry recognises that very few travellers will want to go on holiday if they then are obliged to stay indoors for two weeks. The two biggest holiday companies, Tui and Jet2, were planning to restart operations in mid-June.

I predict they will cancel hundreds of thousands of packages in June, possibly extending into July. But any Tui customer who wants certainty can take advantage of the travel firm’s new policy that allows holidaymakers booked until the end of August to postpone without penalty.

Airlines, too, are not legally obliged to provide refunds if you no longer wish to travel. In practice some – such as British Airways – are likely to cancel flights wholesale, allowing you to claim your money back, while others may offer vouchers for future travel. If the flight goes ahead, you are not entitled to a refund.

Can’t I just claim on travel insurance?

No. The existence of a law requiring you to self-isolate on return does not affect the performance of the trip.

Can I book a holiday for later in the year and expect to avoid quarantine?

There is no guarantee, but with many MPs furious about the harm the policy will cause to their constituents, few in the travel industry anticipate that it will remain beyond July.

Does this mean that last-minute travel will become the norm?

Yes. Rationally no one will book a trip a long way ahead knowing that the government can impose arbitrary policies that would scupper travel plans.

What happened to the plans for “air bridges” to give wider exemptions?

The transport secretary floated the option of “air bridges” as part of a desperate move to limit the damage.

But Grant Shapps’s proposals for certain nations signing mutual quarantine-free deals with the UK was rebutted by Downing Street.

When quarantine comes up for review, though, air-bridge arrangements are likely to be used to justify lifting the obligation for arrivals from the most popular holiday destinations.

Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Turkey will all press for exemption, possibly along with the US.

So when quarantine is finally lifted, what will it mean for people who have already started self-isolating: can they just stop?

No. They will be expected to complete their mandatory assignment. Many travel industry figures, though, believe that most people will simply abandon isolation.

People without UK addresses will get “accommodation arranged by the government”. What does this mean?

The government will probably press into service hotels near airports and seaports. There are hundreds of thousands of empty hotel rooms.

What needs to happen before foreign holidays become possible again?

These are my five tests:

1. Has lockdown been eased enough to allow you to reach the UK airport?
2. Has the Foreign Office lifted its warning against all overseas travel?
3. Is there an airline prepared to take you?
4. Will the destination country let you in?
5. The new condition: can you tolerate self-isolating on your return?

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