At least two consular flights are scheduled to fly from Britain to Ireland on Tuesday evening to get Irish residents stranded by the travel ban home, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Transport have said.
The flights will be operated by Irish airlines and at least one will depart from London, Simon Coveney and Eamon Ryan confirmed on Monday evening.
The departure airport of the second flight will be decided based on demand from those who contact the Department of Foreign Affairs’ assistance line, they said.
Both flights will also be accessible to Irish-bound passengers who are travelling through British airports but have become stranded because of the ban, the Ministers said.
Arrangements are to be made with ferry companies to gain “exceptional access” to ferry services for the “small number of Irish residents” who are stranded in Britain after taking short trips in their vehicles, they added.
In a statement, the Ministers said Tuesday’s two flights would be “open to Irish residents and transiting passengers only” and that there would be no access to people living in Britain who were “planning short trips to Ireland for Christmas”.
The travel restrictions, which were put in place in response to a new strain of Covid-19 circulating in Britain, have left some Irish citizens stranded abroad.
Aer Lingus said on Monday it was still operating flights from Ireland to Britain “in order to facilitate the repatriation of customers to the UK and those with connecting flights in the UK”.
“Customers whose flights have been cancelled are being contacted by Aer Lingus directly, and are entitled to a refund, voucher or rerouting at a later date,” said an Aer Lingus spokeswoman.
It is understood Aer Lingus may operate the Government’s repatriation flights although details have not yet been confirmed.
A Ryanair spokesman said all passengers affected by travel bans from the UK would receive an email notification and “be offered practical alternatives including free moves, re-routing or a refund”.
He said Ryanair would continue to operate flights which are permitted to fly to and from the UK but that any passengers who did not wish to travel during the five days prior to Christmas would be allowed to change their flight for any date up until March 15th with no change of flight fee.
