All fights cancelled..starting to feel panicky

[Novousername]

I’m not in the U.K. but am originally from there. Seeing lots of news on the forums here about flights being cancelled to and from the uk up until April and some even as far along as August..am I missing something here but why still cancelling that late in the year?
I haven’t seen my parents for what feels like ages and they’re due to have the vaccines hopefully April/May. They were planning to come out in the summer.
It’s closing in here too, we’re on a partial lockdown and allowed out until 1 pm, it’s looking like a full one is imminent.
Just feeling really down at the thought of being trapped in all the way from my family and trying to entertain my poor toddler, who I feel sad is missing out on life.

I don’t know if I can go through this again for months and months

I’m overseas too but on another continent. My family are in the UK. I last saw my friends and most of my family 18 months ago...my parents almost a year ago. My parents have booked to come to see us in February but that won’t happen now 😩🥲🥲. It’s likely that we won’t see them for at least 2 years. They’re not getting any younger💔

I don't agree with fighting so I'm glad that all fights are cancelled.

I travelled Germany to U.K., and U.K. to Germany in the past 2 weeks.

They are allowing nationals and residents travel. You have to have proof, and you have to have a negative coronavirus result no older than 48 hours otherwise they're not letting people flight, but flights are still available for those who fit the criteria.

@geoffreyjellineck but it has to be an essential reason right ? What are they ?

[quote stufftosay]@geoffreyjellineck but it has to be an essential reason right ? What are they ? [/quote]
As far as essential reasons for travel into the UK you can get a clue from this list of those exempt from quarantine:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules

I don't by any means agree with all of the categories UK gov has chosen to regard as exempt but there are a lot of jobs (many that I suspect people didn't even know exist) where travel into/out of the UK really is essential if you want the country to continue to function.

[quote stufftosay]@geoffreyjellineck but it has to be an essential reason right ? What are they ? [/quote]

Essential, yes. In theory. They don't ask you why you're travelling. Or at least, I wasn't asked in either country.

@ILoveShula

I don't agree with fighting so I'm glad that all fights are cancelled.

😂

My parents are in Portugal too.
Maybe you driving to them in the summer could be an option so you make the trip rather than your elderly parents?

My friend had his August flight to Bordeaux cancelled by Easyjet yesterday. No reason given.

The essential reasons listed above are for those who are exempt from quarantine. You can travel even if you aren't on that list, but you have to quarantine. Visiting family is an acceptable reason, going on a holiday is not.

My parents are in the us. I'm in the uk. They've visited 3 times in 2020

@ILoveShula

I don't agree with fighting so I'm glad that all fights are cancelled.

They're not, we're just not supposed to talk about them.

There are loads of flights from Lisbon to London over the next month or so

@Lelophants

It's because of the new variant including the South African one which the virus might not protect against. I agree it's difficult but things might start opening up again. The vaccinne doesn't necessarily stop transmission only stopping you getting it. Once your parents have had jt and if you are happy to quarantine I'm sure you will get flights restarting. It's hard to plan much atm.

^Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine ‘works against rapid spread mutant strains’ The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech protects against two new mutant variants that are causing rapid spread across the UK, according to new research. The pharmaceutical giant and researchers from the University of Texas carried out lab tests on the strains, one of which was found in the UK while the other originated in South Africa. The variants contain mutations including N501Y, an alteration in spike protein of the virus, which is a target for vaccines. In the new study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, blood samples were taken from 20 people who received the Pfizer vaccine. Laboratory studies found that the samples had neutralising levels of antibodies which worked against the new strains. The third lockdown in England was in response to the rapid spread of the mutant strain found in the South East, which has now spread to other parts of the UK.^

@Keratinsmooth

There are loads of flights from Lisbon to London over the next month or so

Portugal is about to enter a new lockdown, probably, so many may well be cancelled soon.

My DM aged 75 is in Spain, we've not seen each other since Dec 2019, we tried to visit in Aug but BA cancelled our flights. Am hoping for this summer if non-residents can visit and if we need to drive, we will do. In the meantime, I keep my all my fingers crossed that she doesn't get sick before she gets the vaccine.

Thanks for the kind words from lots of you.

We’re about to enter a full lockdown and with the way things are here and uk etc I definitely wasn’t expecting I’d see them soon , at the moment they wouldn’t travel here or me there, I was just surprised about some of the flight cancellations for August, I was feeling more positive that I’d most likely see them by summer, the thought we might not is hard, but yes true for everyone.
I do think it’s different to being down the rise from your parents but not being able to see them. I feel a real sense of panic that if something happened I couldn’t get to them.
Just one of those days, I’m a resilient person but with heading into another lockdown feeling a lot further away from everyone than I sometimes do was hard.
Onwards & upwards

It’s been predicted my dad (should) get the vaccine in February and my mum (hopefully) around May, but who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️(They’re in Cornwall)

@ILoveShula I’m being thick here but don’t understand your comment 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Staffy1

I’m fifty two, not vulnerable other than age and my gp surgery has already texted me some questions to clarify my vulnerability as they are expecting to give it to me soon. The calculator says it will be a year away

Perhaps they are just checking where all their patients come in the list. My 89 year old FIL has heard nothing yet, nor my 78 year old DM with heart issues. I read in the news that some 99 year old is still waiting. Yet somehow Boris' 80 year old father is about to have his second dose.

All over 80s are equal, it doesn't matter whether they're 81 or 101, they're all one group.

@Novosername, My parents are in that part of the world too. DM reckons all the second home owners are doing lockdown there. Also I have friends who usually live in London doing lockdown with family in Cornwall. DM thinks that added pressure on the system is causing the delay in getting vaccinated.

On the flights issue, I thought the airlines were consolidating flights and getting rid of the ones from regional airports. My folks were due to come over from Bristol but when DH went back to the UK in September he had several changes to his flights into London with two different airlines. I'm not usually a last-minute kind of person but I really think as people are suggesting it's the way forward at the moment.

[quote Novousername]@ILoveShula I’m being thick here but don’t understand your comment 🤷🏻‍♀️[/quote]
There's a typo in your thread title.

I'm assuming it relates to that.

My father (80s) has had both jabs and my mum (72) had her first on Friday. They've been told to continue to take all precautions.

Not all flights are/will be cancelled. Budget airlines have cut lots of routes though, because it's not financially viable for them to run half-empty flights to Alicante/Algarve, etc.

Pre-corona I was flying 4-5 times a month and ever since summer I've had an almost full schedule for work travel purposes. All those Ryanair and easyJet direct flights I used to take, don't exist anymore.

But even in the middle of the strictest lockdown where I am, there were quite a few flights to European hubs, from where I then connected on to my destination, if they were smaller cities not served by a direct flight with a main (flag-carrier) airline.

So flights to Portugal will still exist, but it's likely they'll involve flying to and from a big airport, and at least one layover somewhere like Paris/Zurich/Madrid. Gone are the days of daily Bristol-Málaga flights for £12.99. They're now LHR-Madrid-Málaga and/or a few train connections. Traveling now takes double the time and effort it did in 2019, but it's most definitely still doable if you have to get somewhere.

Well we have very elderly dh’s parents in South Africa, Mil is becoming very frail and confused at times. We were supposed to be going over in April for Fil’s 90th Birthday - Zero chance of that! We haven’t seen them for two years. Dh is becoming more and more anxious about them.
As far as I know SA haven’t even bought any vaccine yet. They will be lucky to even get one rolled out in 2021.