Flight Restrictions During the Second Lockdown

Flight Restrictions During the Second Lockdown

It’s very hard to keep up with all the restrictions as things are constantly developing with the Coronavirus and the national lockdown. 

While they haven’t been communicated particularly well, the restrictions on flying during the second lockdown are actually quite straightforward.

To try and control the spread of the virus around the UK before Christmas the government has imposed strong restrictions on travel.

The government states:

‘Under national restrictions in England, you can only travel abroad for work, education or other legally permitted reasons.’

Citizens can, however, travel to and from common travel areas The Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

These restrictions came into place when the second lockdown started on the 5th of November and are due to end on the 2nd of December.

Different rules apply to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in terms of flight restrictions, information on the separate countries can be found online, just search online.

Can I fly to Other Countries When the National Lockdown Ends?

At the moment, the government has advised that the flight restrictions in place during the second lockdown will end with it on December 2nd.

The government website states:

‘From 2 December local restriction tiers will replace national restrictions in England. National restrictions on international travel will no longer apply. National restrictions continue to apply until 2 December.’

 

Yes, you can fly to other countries when the lockdown ends but the government advises against it as it wants to keep people isolated as much as possible to stop the spread.

 

Where Can I fly to?

As with before, the government has a list of countries that are safe to travel to and will not require you to isolate if you visit them.

 

A full list of countries that you can travel to without having to isolate can be found online

This list is constantly being updated as numbers emerge from different countries. It is also important to remember that countries can be added to or taken off the list at any point. 

If you travel to one of these countries there is no guarantee that it won’t be taken off while you are there, leading to you having to quarantine for 2 weeks on arrival back to the UK.

If this does happen and you do have to quarantine you may be able to pay for a private test in order to cut your quarantine in half.

The BBC states:

‘From 15 December, people arriving in England will be able to cut their quarantine period by at least half if they pay for a Covid test after five days.

The tests will cost between £65 and £120 and the results will normally come back within 24 to 48 hours. This means people could stop self-isolating six days after arrival if they test negative.