More than 50 countries now banning flights from UK as mutant Covid strain continues to cause travel chaos
MORE than 50 countries have now banned flights coming from the UK as the new mutant strain of coronavirus rips through Britain.
The Caribbean destinations of Jamaica, Grenada and the Dominican Republic are among the latest to shut their doors to travellers from the UK.
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It means around 53 countries across five continents have either banned inbound flights or cut all passenger air travel with the UK since Sunday, Mail Online reports.
Some countries extended their bans while others warned of stricter measures for UK travellers.
Within Europe, France, Spain, Gibraltar, Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Switzerland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Romania, Austria, Hungary, Portugal, Latvia, Luxembourg, Finland, Moldova, Denmark, Turkey, Russia and the Netherlands have halted, or have said they will soon halt, flights arriving from the UK, according to The Telegraph.
Greece has also imposed stricter quarantine measures for people arriving from Britain.
Beyond Europe, Canada, Kuwait, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Israel, Chile, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Peru, India, Argentina, Morocco, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Panama, Singapore, Tunisia, Oman, Pakistan, Jamaica, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Algeria, El Salvador, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are barring arrivals from the UK.
‘SPREADING VERY FAST’
It comes after the alarming spread of the mutant Covid strain prompted Boris Johnson to cancel plans to relax lockdown rules over Christmas for millions across the UK.
Speaking from Downing Street, he said scientists are “learning more about this variant” as they go, but that it was “now spreading very fast”.
Tier four restrictions have now been imposed across the southeast, south, and east of England, with a travel ban enforced and residents told not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.
And the same measures could be imposed in more parts of England as early as Boxing Day, The Sun revealed on Tuesday.
The news of the new strain has prompted alarm around the world, with dozens of countries imposing a ban on flights from the UK.
France’s Le Monde newspaper said the strain “concludes a disaster year for the United Kingdom”, while Belgium’s HLN paper said that “chaos looms” for the country.
It comes as…
Countries across Europe – including France, Germany, and Ireland – have imposed bans, as have Canada, India, Russia, Israel, and numerous other countries globally.
The US is yet to follow suit, but Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said that “everything [is] on the table”.
The ban in Germany left more than 60 Brits stranded and sleeping on camp beds at an airport in Hanover while screening was carried out.
France also closed its borders to freight lorries from the UK for 48 hours, a move that it is feared could have a “devastating” effect on the supply of food and other goods in Britain.
Airlines are dispatching empty flights to affected countries to ensure everyone who had return trips cancelled can get back.
They are also offering flight changes free of charge.
But it is believed around 250,000 outbound and inbound travellers could be affected by the bans between now and January 1, with the travel sector taking a £400million hit.
The new strain is confirmed to have spread to at least five other places – Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Gibraltar, and Australia – but officials have said it is likely to already be circulating elsewhere.
There have been unverified reports of confirmed cases in Belgium.
WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE BANNED FLIGHTS FROM BRITAIN?
The news of the mutant strain of coronavirus spreading in the UK prompted countries around the world to introduce bans on travellers from Britain.
- Argentina: After a flight arrives Monday, all links with the UK will be shut.
- Austria: Flights have been banned from midnight on Tuesday.
- Belgium: Flights have been banned for a further 24 hours after a one-day suspension was introduced from midnight on Sunday.
- Bulgaria: Flights suspended until January 31.
- Canada: Justin Trudeau has tweeted that flights have been temporarily suspended for 72 hours from Sunday night. Brits who arrived on Sunday will be subject to extra screenings and other “advanced measures”.
- Chile: Flights suspended to the UK from Tuesday. Anyone who has travelled to Britain in the past two weeks and does not have Chilean residency will also be banned.
- Colombia: All flights to and from the UK have been suspended from midnight Monday until further notice.
- Croatia: Flights suspended until January 31.
- Denmark: The Danish government has suspended all flights from the UK to Denmark for 48 hours between Dec 21 and Dec 23.
- Dominican Republic: The Dominican government has suspended all inbound passenger flights from the UK from December 22.
- El Salvador: Anyone who has traveled to South Africa or the UK in the past 30 days will be denied entry.
- Estonia: Flights suspended until January 1.
- Finland: Flights have been suspended for two weeks.
- France: All travel to the UK was halted for 48 hours on Sunday night, including freight, rail, ferry and air networks. Only unaccompanied freight will be allowed through. Eurostar and Eurotunnel services are not running, while the port at Dover is also closed.
- Germany: An initial air ban has been brought in until December 31, although authorities are working to extend this into January. Freight is exempt from the ban.
- Grenada: All air traffic between the UK and Grenada has been suspended until further notice.
- Hong Kong: All arrivals from the UK in the last 14 days will have their quarantine extended, while new arrivals will be banned from midnight Tuesday.
- Hungary: Hungary is restricting flights to and from the UK until February 8 2021.
- India: All flights from the UK will be banned until midnight on December 31. Anyone who transits through Britain will automatically be tested on arrival in India.
- Iran: Flights suspended for two weeks.
- Ireland: Flights have been banned for 48 hours from midnight on Sunday. The 310 mile long land border remains open at this time
- Israel: All travellers from Britain, South Africa and Denmark have been banned entry. Israeli citizens returning from these places will be subject to tough quarantine, according to Benjamin Natanyahu.
- Italy: Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said he has signed a decree “which blocks flights from Great Britain and prohibits entry into Italy of people who have stayed there during the last 14 days”.
- Jamaica: All incoming flights from the UK are banned until January 4.
- Jordan: All flights between the kingdom and the UK are suspended until January 3.
- Kuwait: Banned flights from the UK and added Britain to its list of ‘high-risk nations’.
- Latvia: Flights suspended until January 1. Bus and ferry services have also been shut down.
- Lithuania: Flights suspended until January 1.
- Luxembourg: The Luxembourg government has banned all air passenger flights between the UK and Luxembourg until Jan 3 2021.
- Macedonia: Flights suspended until January 31.
- Malta: All flights suspended to and from the UK from midnight on Tuesday.
- Mauritius: Travellers from the UK and South Africa will be banned from midnight, with anyone travelling to those countries in the past 14 days will also be denied entry.
- Morocco: All flights to the UK banned from Sunday.
- Netherlands: All air and ferry services have been stopped until January 1 as one new case of the mutant strain has been found in the Netherlands.
- Norway: All flights suspended for two days.
- Oman: All borders have closed for two weeks.
- Pakistan: Anyone who has been in the UK 10 days before travel will not be able to enter Pakistan between December 23 and 29.
- Panama: Entry to Panama is closed to all those who have been in the United Kingdom or South Africa 20 days prior to their arrival unless they are Panamanian nationals or residents.
- Peru: All flights to and from Europe have been suspended for two weeks President Francisco Sagasti announced.
- Poland: All those travelling from the UK will be denied entry from midnight Monday.
- Portugal: Lisbon has announced its ban in coordination with Spain, it’s only neighbour by land.
- Romania: Flights banned for two weeks.
- Russia: The Kremlin have suspended air travel between Russia and the UK for a week.
- Saudi Arabia: All borders have closed for one week. Arrivals from Europe over the weekend will be made to quarantine for two weeks and will be tested.
- Spain: Madrid has announced that all non-residents and citizens entering from the UK will be banned from Tuesday. Controls on entry will also be tightened in Gibraltar.
- Singapore: As of 23 December, anyone who has been in the UK in the last 14 days before travel will not be permitted to enter or transit Singapore.
- Sri Lanka: Entry to Sri Lanka is currently prohibited for all non-nationals.
- Sweden: Travellers from the UK and Denmark have been banned from midnight Monday for an initial 48 hours, although Swedish citizens will be exempted.
- Switzerland: Flights have been suspended until further notice. Arrivals from South Africa are now also banned and ordered into quarantine, although Swiss authorities announced they believe the mutated virus is already circulating in the country, but has yet to show up on tests.
- Turkey: Flights from the UK, along with South Africa, Denmark and the Netherlands have been suspended.
- Uzbekistan: British nationals arriving directly from the UK or who have been in the UK in the last 14 days are not permitted to travel to or to enter Uzbekistan until Jan 10.
Scientists have said that the new mutation – dubbed N510Y – was first identified in Brazil more than eight months ago, but is now spreading faster as part of a “constellation of multiple mutations”.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the government’s Nervtag advisory committee, said: “When you put virus mutations together, the combination can have a different effect.”
It has also been said that the new strain has only been identified because of the work being done in the UK to trek variations of the virus as it moves through the population.
“Very likely that what we are seeing in Britain is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Professor Jacob Moran-Gilad
Speaking to the Jerusalem Post, Prof. Jacob Moran-Gilad a microbiologist at Ben-Gurion University’s School of Public Health, said: “The British are currently the world leaders in their rate of genetic sequencing for COVID-19 patient samples.
“That’s why they’re the ones that find these things.”
He added that it’s “very likely that what we are seeing in Britain is just the tip of the iceberg”.
“There are most likely a lot of mutations we don’t yet know about because most of the world doesn’t consistently survey and track the mutation,” he said.
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But scientists have also said there is no reason to think the new strain won’t respond to the vaccines now being rolled out, nor necessarily any cause for concern until more is known.
Speaking to the Guardian, Christian Drosten said: “The question is: is this virus being boosted by a coming new wave in the region concerned [south-east England], or is this virus responsible for creating this wave in the first place? That’s an important difference.
“I am open to new scientific insights, and in science there are always surprises, but I am everything but worried in this respect.”
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