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LIST: Countries banning travel from UK

Agence France-Presse
LIST: Countries banning travel from UK
In this file photo taken on June 08, 2020 A Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777 comes in over houses, to land at Heathrow airport in west London as the UK government's planned 14-day quarantine for international arrivals to limit the spread of Covid-19 starts on June 8, 2020. The Supreme Court on December 16, 2020 is set to hand down its judgement on a legal challenge over the Government's decision to give the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
AFP / Adrian Dennis

PARIS, France — Countries around the world have begun banning flights and travellers from Britain as London admitted that a more-infectious new coronavirus strain was spreading "out of control".

Here are the places that have announced travel bans so far.

India

India suspended all flights from the United Kingdom from midnight until December 31, saying that anyone arriving from Britain on transit flights would be also tested. 

Poland

Poland, which like India has a large diaspora population in Britain, also said that flights from the UK were being banned from midnight.

Hong Kong

The former British colony is banning all flights arriving from the United Kingdom from midnight, and the quarantine of passengers who arrived from Britain in the last fortnight is being extended.

All international arrivals must already spend 14 days in isolation in a hotel. 

France

France has halted all travel from Britain for 48 hours from midnight, including anyone transporting goods "by road, air, sea or rail".

The ban on everything but unaccompanied freight comes as companies scramble to shift merchandise across the Channel with days to go until Britain leaves the EU trade bloc.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex's office said the 48-hour period would offer time to coordinate a joint EU response that would ultimately allow travel from the UK to resume "with compulsory testing on departure".

Germany

Germany also halted air links with the UK from midnight, with the ban initially slated to last until December 31.

Cargo flights will be exempt.

A government source told AFP that Berlin is already "working on measures" to extend the suspension into January.

Netherlands

All passenger flights from Britain to the Netherlands have been banned until January 1. One case of the new strain has been found in the country, the health ministry added.

Ireland

Flights from Britain from midnight were banned for at least 48 hours. The country shares a highly-porous 499-kilometre (310-mile) border with the UK.

Italy

Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said that he had 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".

Anyone in Italy who recently travelled from Britain must be tested, the statement added.

The new strain has been found in one person in Italy who recently returned from the UK.

Rest of Europe

Elsewhere in Europe, Belgium banned flights from the UK for 24 hours, Finland barred flights for two weeks and Switzerland stopped them until further notice.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have halted flights, with Croatia suspending them for 48 hours. Norway and Denmark banned flights for 48 hours.

Bulgaria said flights to and from Britain would be suspended until January 31.

Romania is banning all flights to and from the UK for two weeks from Monday afternoon.

Canada

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada would ban all UK flights for 72 hours.

In a tweet, he added those who had already arrived from Britain on Sunday would be subject to secondary screenings and other "advanced measures".

Turkey

Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that flights from Britain, Denmark — where nine cases of the new strain have been detected — the Netherlands and South Africa would be suspended.

Iran

Iran's health ministry has ordered flights from Britain suspended for two weeks.

Israel

Israel said it was barring entry to foreign citizens travelling from Britain, Denmark and South Africa.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office also announced tough quarantine rules for Israelis returning home from those nation.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said it was halting all flights and entry through land and sea ports for at least a week, with the option to extend for a further week.

Passengers who arrived in the kingdom from Europe — or any country where the new strain was detected — will be required to self isolate for two weeks and undergo testing.

Kuwait

Kuwait has added Britain to a list of "high-risk" nations and banned flights.

El Salvador

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said that anyone who had been in Britain or South Africa in the past 30 days will not be allowed to enter the country.

Argentina

Argentina has banned flights from the UK.

It said the last flight from Britain would arrive in the country on Monday.

Chile

Chile is suspending flights from the UK from Tuesday.

The government said anyone without a Chilean residence permit who had been in Britain in the past two weeks would be barred from entry into the country.

Morocco

Morocco banned all flights to the UK from Sunday.

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS

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As It Happens
LATEST UPDATE: June 5, 2023 - 6:04pm

Find the latest travel and tourism news from around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. Main image by AFP/Romeo Gacad

June 5, 2023 - 6:04pm

Airlines will fly 4.35 billion passengers this year, close to the 2019 record as the industry bounces back from the Covid pandemic, an industry group said on Monday.

The sector will also be back in the green, with net profits forecast to reach $9.8 billion in 2023, or double previous estimates, boosted by the end of China's Covid restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The association added that its 2022 losses were half as bad as previously estimated at $3.6 billion.

"Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement during the association's annual general meeting in Istanbul.

"Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments. China lifted Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year than anticipated," Walsh said. — AFP

March 8, 2023 - 1:04pm

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific reports its first annual operating profit since 2019 as the airline fights to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity.

"Cathay Pacific has experienced three challenging years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 2022 very much being a year of two halves," chairman Patrick Healy says in a statement announcing the results.. 

Cathay is still trailing regional rivals such as Singapore Airlines, with Hong Kong's axing of harsh pandemic curbs -- including mandatory hotel quarantine and strict testing requirements -- only beginning in the fall of last year.

The airline operated at one-third of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity in December but expects to reach 70% of that figure by the end of 2023, the company says. — AFP

March 3, 2023 - 3:28pm

German airline giant Lufthansa says Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after COVID-19 shutdowns.

The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) for last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020.

"Lufthansa is back," says the company's CEO Carsten Spohr. — AFP

March 1, 2023 - 5:58pm

People hoping to take advantage of a Hong Kong scheme to give away half a million free airline tickets face hours-long online queues on Wednesday, as the Asian financial hub bids to woo tourists back.

The city last month launched a campaign to reboot its reputation as "Asia's world city", after years of strict pandemic-related travel restrictions and a crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong became one of the last places in the world to drop its outdoor mask mandate, which city leader John Lee said was a sign that it was "resuming normalcy". — AFP

February 23, 2023 - 10:36am

Australian airline Qantas says Thursday it bounced back into profit in late 2022, hailing a "huge turnaround" after swallowing massive losses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national carrier posted a second-half profit of Aus$1.43 billion (US$974 million) before tax, after accumulating Aus$7 billion in losses across the previous three years.

Chief executive Alan Joyce says surging demand for flights had boosted the company's fortunes while announcing a plan to buy back Aus$500 million in Qantas shares. — AFP 

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