Who is still flying?

[willow2220]

Just a random general knowledge question really ..... hearing on the news that 20 flights have already landed at Heathrow this morning (before 8am) it would be interesting to know what reasons people have for flying in at the moment, as here most people are hardly leaving their homes? Is it all business? Surely there is no tourism as everything is closed? Are there lots of UK nationals abroad who are coming home? Would love to know how many people are flying in everyday ... for the curious listening to the news we have no idea of the scale.

I was also wondering the same

I know someone who went on a holiday abroad 2 weeks ago and apparently no one was checking their reasons for travelling. I bet people are still doing it if it's that easy to get away with.

We live in Surrey so would normally hear aeroplanes all day, both from Gatwick and Heathrow, we hardly hear any and haven’t done for a long time. A lot of people took all annual leave to travel and see relatives before Christmas, so maybe are just returning now and lots are travelling back to the UK early in case they have to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.

I would have thought only people who have relatives abroad on their death bed.

But it seems anyone who fancies it....

Still lots of flights coming from other parts of the UK or Ireland. Lots of freight.

I've had to travel for work. The planes are pretty empty to be honest. Didn't look like holiday makers.

Don't assume every flight is full, might only be about 25% full on avg. Does Heathrow take no flights from elsewhere in UK (like Belfast)?

All sorts of people are simply returning "home" after international departures they decided to make 3-24 months ago.

Someone on here (Uk resident) posted about her partner who is an oil-platform engineer & regularly goes off to places like Malaysia for 3-4 week stints working there. That is common that industry (long stints far from "home"). There are oil/gas engineers regularly working in UK who have families they live with in Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, etc.

Need an organ for transplant, some types of legal document, technical scientific equipment, biological tissues, some medicines? All those get escorted personally.

A large % of those landing at Heathrow are in transit going on to Ireland or France etc.

The list of people exempt from quarantine rules includes all sorts of business people, technicians, scientists, engineers, health care professionals. Until recently, journalists, too.

DH travels for work, he's currently in the Middle East. He said the planes are pretty empty, it's not full plane loads like it would normally be.

Many passenger flights carry cargo so some are still flying. There are only a handful of passengers on board, I imagine they are travelling to be with family for various reasons such as bereavement.
Things like medical supplies, for example, vaccines, and all the stuff people order from Amazon have to get here somehow. Lots of flights are cargo only, so just because you see a plane don't assume it's packed with holiday makers. There are also ambulance flights which can look like normal business jets.

My husband works offshore abroad, his flight home from KL a couple weeks back had 12 people on it and it was a 747.

He has travelled this whole pandemic and the flights have been pretty much empty most of the time.

More inflammatory threads with no substance!

I live in a different country. Many of my friends are flying back and forth for business reasons and also many have their actual homes in the UK but businesses abroad.

Thanks for your replies, it is interesting to hear about careers / businesses that you don't necessarily know about. I bet it must feel very strange to be on an empty 747, nice to be able to stretch out . Many years ago I used to do UK to Singapore flights in off peak times and it was lovely having a few seats to yourself.

We haven’t seen any family for over a year and it has been difficult. My parents were hoping to visit soon after they’ve had their vaccines.

I flew in early January. Everyone on my flight (not many) were flying for work purposes, as was I, with negative coronavirus results and planning on quarantining and getting tested to release (private test). All flights were diverted from other parts of the U.K. to London. Majority of the other planes were freight, and the rest were repatriation flights. Although I'm sure there are some who are trying to risk it, the majority of countries now require proof of reason for travelling and proof of residency if returning to a country you don't have a passport for, including the U.K., Italy, Germany etc.

Just flew back after spending 2 weeks in Spain.

My mum has terminal cancer and I wanted to be with her and help my sister out.

Plane back from Madrid was full, I was asked by UK border police why I was travelling, I told them the truth, but I guess they would have no way of knowing.

It’s such a hassle to travel these days, not just the added cost of tests, there are hardly any flights available and all to main cities like Madrid. You then have to take a domestic flight, which are also few and far in between (had to spend 4 hours at the airport).

I doubt I’ll be going to my mum’s funeral, but I’m happy I was there while she’s still alive.

This is the third time I fly during lockdown and no one has ever checked if I’m self isolating, I wonder if this time it’ll be different.

The only people I know who've flown since lockdown started in March last year:

• 1 came back from what was meant to be a year travelling round the world.
• 2 have been to Ireland to visit family (twice). Non-urgent circumstances, they just seem to think they're exempt from the rules.
• 1 has been to Northern Ireland a couple of times because her mum died and she's had to sort out estate etc.
• 1 works overseas and commutes back & forth to the UK. Full credit to him for sticking out self isolation every few weeks!

My friend has flown back to her home country to say goodbye to her mum who has days left to live.

Some British firms design/manufacture equipment that is used all over the world (including in for production/essential materials manufacturing). Engineers can't always fault find/fix remotely and have to physically go. Also parts can take weeks to ship if not taken as luggage depending on customs.
This mumsnet concept of only the fat cats going on business trips for jollies is not the reality.