Flights to the EU

[pamperramper]

I'm confused now. Am I right in thinking that the EU will continue with flights for a period after a no deal Brexit? Is this still right, and for how long? I need to book flights to Belgium and Germany over the next few months.

How about if you’re white but can’t get an ESTA due to visiting / being born in a blacklisted and are waiting on a visa decision?

What does "Get Ready For Brexit" say ? You can't get better, more up to date information than the governments own website, surely ?

I wonder if it'll be possible to book the whole trip on a single ticket though, otherwise it'll be a nightmare

I'd imagine airlines will do the same as they do now and codeshare. So you could for example fly BA to Madrid and then Iberia to Rome on a code share and it will be one ticket.

I’ve wondered what happens if you’re flying into Canada but get diverted to a US airport and you don’t have an ESTA You stay airside until you can get a flight to Canada or home?

You stay airside until you can get a flight to Canada or home?

You have to enter the USA though - there is no transit option?

"I wonder if it'll be possible to book the whole trip on a single ticket though, otherwise it'll be a nightmare"

As berlinbabylon says one option is to book the flights with codeshare partners, that way it's e.g. two sectors, but a single booking reference, single ticket number. It's only the same as what you might have to do currently if you want to fly from say London to New York with a UK airline and then fly with the codeshare partner to Small Anytown USA on a regional flight.

"I’ve wondered what happens if you’re flying into Canada but get diverted to a US airport and you don’t have an ESTA"

Yep, generally it's get an ESTA somehow or stay airside....

Can you stay airside though? I thought all passengers landing in the US have to deplane and go through immigration? Would be happy to know if that’s not the case though.

Looking forward to people complaining about this to the tabloids.
Just as I am looking forward to people complaining about health care.
And car issues. Driving licenses.

Don't worry, Hard BR (cannot even make myself say the word now) will not happen anytime soon.

Far too many unknown knowns or known unknowns, now....whatever. Wait and see.

Flights though seem to be ok, subject to the parameters mentioned above. But we are all fine with that surely? LOL.

"Can you stay airside though? I thought all passengers landing in the US have to deplane and go through immigration? "

Nope..as an example I know a couple of decades BA used to operate a flight that went London>Seattle> Vancouver. The Vancouver bound passengers stayed onboard the aircraft during the 1'ish hour transit at Seattle.

If a flight from the UK diverts going into the States, e.g. a New York bound flight ends up in Boston, the passengers would stay on the aircraft until onwards flight is possible.

It's perhaps worth bearing in mind not all American airfields used as "alternates" have immigration facilities...the assumption is they are simply used as a place to go to, fuel up, and then press on to destination. If you can't do that it does then get tricky.......

In your London-Seattle-Vancouver example did passengers need a transit visa? I do know of one person deported from Florida whilst in transit from the UK to the Caribbean because he didn’t have the right to enter the US (that was about 30 years ago though). It was for work so caused a bit of a headache.

If a flight from the UK diverts going into the States, e.g. a New York bound flight ends up in Boston, the passengers would stay on the aircraft until onwards flight is possible.

In that example, the destination was in the US so you’d have to have an ESTA or visa in any case.

I’m wondering what would happen if your flight to Montreal was diverted to Boston? You might have a long wait if yours was one of the last flights in and the airport was closed until the morning?

SImple solutions which will also reduce our carbon footprint... take the train or fly less...

Not sure how you would take the train to the Americas or Australia and New Zealand, but theoretically all of Europe, Asia and Africa, it should be possible.

Ah well, back to the old days hey, when the plebs like us went to Blackpool or Rhyl, or if in the South Brighton or Weston super Mare, for our fortnight's hols. With dragon like landladies who booted you out after breakfast.

Not sure how you would take the train to the Americas or Australia and New Zealand

A Boris bridge ?

"In your London-Seattle-Vancouver example did passengers need a transit visa? "

No (and they never left the aircraft during the transit).

"I’m wondering what would happen if your flight to Montreal was diverted to Boston? You might have a long wait if yours was one of the last flights in and the airport was closed until the morning?"

No idea, that's one of those things immigration/the airline etc usually have to sort out on the day/night on a case by case basis.

I have be involved in a diversion into a country which has strict Visa requirements (not the States) and the flight could not continue to destination ( the crew hit the flying hours limit, weather at te planned destination remained dreadful). After a few hours diplomatic hurdles were negotiated passengers went to local hotels for the night - FWIW the flight got into the intended destination the next day.

The fundamental point I'm making is that thanks to the likes of ICAO and others there are processes in place to deal with these events.

Certainly in the context of the EU27, UK airline flights and Brexit I don't see diversions suddenly becoming incredibly more problematic.

Not sure how you would take the train to the Americas or Australia and New Zealand, but theoretically all of Europe, Asia and Africa, it should be possible.

The post is about Brexit and the EU!!!!

Except that the report by the government also predicts delays at train stations like st Pancras (in case of no deal).
There load of us flying for pleasure, but even more flying for business. The option of flying less is unviable if your job requires doing inspection to factories in Europe (like mine), and getting via train to Stuttgart or Middelburg or Vittorio Veneto...good luck. It means I need to leave the office the day before.

Tbh I don’t believe that’s going to really be a problem, aviation is one of the business that are in my mind better organised (they are by definition international!!) and familiar with concept of resilience.
I just need to explain that if there were problems, the implications would be severe for the U.K. economy, with losses of jobs (including mine) so please don’t minimise it

Thanks notimagain - I know it’s nothing to do with the EU but it’s a situation that a friend came close to so I’m intrigued as to the answer: she’d recently visited Iran, declared it to the US, had to go for an interview and supply a list with dates of all countries she’d visited in the last 10 years (huge task - she travels a lot) and was still waiting for a decision.