来源：《每日电讯报》
原文刊登日期：2022年6月23日
The restrictions on international travel during the pandemic have a strong claim to being among the most ill-conceived of all the anti-Covid measures imposed by the Government. There was no logic to trying to keep out a virus that was already circulating in the UK. All that was achieved were lost opportunities to go on holiday, or visit friends and family overseas, and a travel industry pushed to the brink of financial collapse.
新冠大流行期间的国际旅行限制有理由被认为是政府实施的所有抗疫措施中最考虑不周的之一。试图阻止一种已经在英国传播的病毒是不合逻辑的。所取得的一切只是让人们失去了去度假、去海外探亲访友的机会，以及旅游业被推向财务崩溃的边缘。
This is what makes the chaos currently plaguing the nation’s airports so dispiriting. Travellers are finally able to go abroad, by and large without having to pay a fortune for Covid tests. They may have to contend with a weaker pound, which will cut their purchasing power in many destinations. But a holiday in the sun this summer will be an aspiration held by millions, particularly given the gloom back home.
这就是目前困扰英国机场的混乱状况如此令人沮丧的原因。旅行者终于可以出国了，基本上不用为新冠病毒检测支付一大笔钱。他们可能不得不应对英镑贬值，这将降低他们在许多目的地的购买力。但今年夏天在阳光下度假将是数百万人的愿望，尤其是考虑到国内阴霾的天气。
Already, however, thousands of flights have been cancelled, sometimes at the last minute, due to a lack of staff. It is often claimed that Britain has a shortage of workers, but that is not strictly true. Unemployment may be low, but the figure does not include the millions of working age people on benefits who are not looking for employment. It might be expected that ministers would be doing more to encourage them back into work. Instead, it is possible that they will wave through a rise in benefit payments, far above the increases for most people in work.
然而，数千个航班已经被取消，有时是在最后一刻，因为缺少工作人员。人们常说英国劳动力短缺，但严格来说这并不正确。失业率可能很低，但这一数字不包括数百万领取救济金却没有找工作的劳动适龄人口。可以预期，部长们将采取更多措施鼓励他们重返工作岗位。实际可能发生的是，他们会通过大幅提高福利指出，远远高于大多数在职人员薪资的增幅。
Now, British Airways workers at Heathrow have voted to go on strike, in a row with the company over pay. Neither side in this dispute comes out of it well. The unions are expected to time their strike to coincide with the start of the summer holiday season, in an attempt to secure greater leverage. Worse, rail strikes may be taking place concurrently.
现在，英国航空公司在希思罗机场的员工投票决定罢工，与公司就工资问题发生争执。这场争端的任何一方都不会得到好的结果。预计工会将把罢工时间安排在夏季休假开始的时候，以确保更大的影响力。更糟糕的是，铁路罢工可能同时发生。
Should the strike go ahead, the danger for the Government is that it will add to the growing sense that Britain is decaying under the Conservatives’ watch. Inexpensive international travel is one of the bounties of the era of mass capitalism, giving ordinary people opportunities that were once afforded only to the wealthy. Those with memories of the 1970s often record the constant personal inconveniences and disappointments of life under a broken system. It seems we may, indeed, be heading back to those days.
如果罢工真的开展下去，政府面临的危险是，它会加深人们日益增长的一种感觉，即英国在保守党的监督下正在衰落。廉价的国际旅行是大众资本主义时代的馈赠之一，给普通人提供了曾经只有富人才能得到的机会。对20世纪70年代有记忆的人经常会记录下在破产的制度下生活的不断的个人不便和失望。看来，我们确实可能回到那个年代。