What are the rules if I get pinged by NHS after a passenger on my flight tests positive for Covid?

Simon Calder answers your questions on the test and trace risk from flying, travelling to Spain and taking an inter-city train on the August bank holiday weekend

Being a close contact of a fellow passenger could result in a 10-day isolation for passengers (Getty/iStock)

Q I have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace and told to self-isolate for the next week because someone on my plane from Greece to the UK has tested positive for coronavirus. The plane was half-empty, and everyone on the flight must have completed a negative test before boarding. Maybe travel is opening up, but pinging is going off the scale. Do you know what the rules are, exactly?

Name supplied

A Numerous passengers have contacted me with similar stories. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says “Although the risk is very low, transmission during a flight cannot be excluded.” Clearly, though, it depends on proximity: an infected person in row 30 is unlikely to present any threat to someone in row one.