Minister can't ban cheap flights to Covid-19 hotspots

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure finds it "undesirable" that airlines offer super cheap flights to coronavirus hotspots, but the government can't do anything to stop it, she said in a letter to parliament on Tuesday night, NU.nl reports.

Parliament asked the Minister to look into whether super cheap flights to areas with a code orange travel warning, discouraging all but absolutely necessary trips, can be stopped. She found no grounds on which these cheap tickets can be banned, Van Nieuwenhuizen said.

The right to competition, among other things, means the government has no legal authority to enforce such a ban. The right to the freedom of movement and service in the European Union means that the government cannot call on public health as a reason to stop the flights, Van Nieuwenhuizen said.

She added that she has raised the issue of dirt cheap flights to coronavirus hotspots with the European Commission and that she urged the other EU member states to discourage these types of practices.