Airbridges - will Scotland have separate rules?

[rookiemere]

If air bridges are agreed with some countries, does anyone know if that's for whole of UK or would Scotland be able to do something different regarding quarantine?
I get confused as to what Scotland has control over versus what's centrally decided.

I know Mascotte. It's bloody ridiculous.

We booked flights when UK made announcement and have been waiting ever since to confirm our property which we can't do until we know we can go - we're happy to take the risk on the flight cost but not the villa too. Luckily the owner is very flexible. We can't go if there is quarantine as DH has to go back to work and kids to school (I could go myself as I'm WFH ).

I totally get that NS wants to keep the virus down but am firmly of the view you're more likely to catch it in England than Spain/France etc. And she can't keep travel banned for the next year - that would decimate the tourism industry here. Bearing in mind there are probably folk from Europe who want to come here this summer too.

@TeenTraumaTrials it's just so rubbish!

I only have two weeks in which to go as dc with their dad then. I just want a break from my four walls and the peeing rain. And I can't afford a break in a Scottish city and I don't want more countryside and rain.

Mascotte I laughed out loud last week when NS said at her briefing she'd encourage people who wanted a holiday to go somewhere in Scotland. I don't want to pay at least 50% more for a cottage with no pool, possibility of the temp being 15 and wet, sitting outside shivering to eat out. Maybe some people are happy to do that but for us a holiday is warmth, sitting out, a pool, different food etc. Even going to the supermarket abroad is fun as we look at all of the different food etc. And I'll suck up 5 hours in a mask at an airport and on the plane to get it.

Did you hear Ian Blackford on radio 4 this morning? On the one hand scotland is open, but wouldn’t rule out further restrictions. Whilst I understand that position, it makes the future very uncertain re holidays in the UK or not.

it makes the future very uncertain re holidays in the UK or not.

No country will rule out further restrictions, of course holidays will be uncertain this year globally. Surprised anyone thinks otherwise.

Certainly journalists think the policies could be clearer by now.

God more talk of bloody staycations today!! She's clearly pissed off at UKG - how much more time does she need? Surely they must have been thinking about this for weeks now?

I'd rather have rain and no foreign holiday / no holiday and virtually no covid...

Really, really don't want plane loads of people returning from Spain and spreading covid everywhere.

She needs to take her head out of her arse and look out of the fucking window.

15c and light showers in Glasgow.
27c and sun forecast for the next 7 days in Malaga.

Staycation my arse. How can you have a "staycation" when fuck all is open and your only option is sitting outside at a pavement cafe in the rain and cold? She is a silly, selfish woman who as the days go on is just proving that all she's interested is being different from Boris.

27c and sun forecast for the next 7 days in Malaga

Haven't the beaches been shut?

-We've just had our 2 week staycation with very mixed weather, nothing but food shops open and a 5 mile travel limit (plus local car parks being shut). Main highlight of DHs holiday was not having to wear a mask all the time. We've both been working full time so missed the nice weather as well. Easter break was cancelled and that's that really. Can't say I'm feeling refreshed, all i've managed to do is fuck up my sleep pattern even more and get some diy done.

I've no plans to go abroad anymore this year but would like to book a short uK break for September but given how long it's taken to get a refund for our Easter break, I'm not feeling that comfortable to book anything again.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine - for Malaga substitute Crete, Barcelona, Nice, Naples, Rhodes, Malta, Sardinia - doesn't matter.

It's JULY in Scotland, the heating came on this morning because it was so cold and I've had to put my socks on.

Sorry you got rubbish weather Waxon by complete fluke I took the last week of May off and had glorious weather, but that's the problem with the UK and Scotland in particular, it's so hard to predict.

Does anyone know what the situation is for people who had holidays booked abroad flying from Scotland? I wonder if the FCO non travel advice is now lifted if they still will get their money back because of quarantine restrictions when they get back.

Our friends who booked their Eurotunnel trip in good faith, thinking Scotland came under the same travel guidance, have now set off and good luck to them. Their Premier Inns are in England , not Scotland, so they won't be cancelled.

The weather to our English holiday location next week is fabulous and a full 5 degrees warmer than here unsurprisingly.

rookie, not blaming anyone, but my holiday plans/aspirations shifted from abroad, to maybe a week in the lakes, to maybe getting an overnight somewhere, to going for a few nice drives with lunch out, to going for some local walks with a picnic. We managed one of those. DH couldn't even finish his painting of the decking as it was too unpredictable to do the last few boards.

Obviously we were in the same boat at Easter and we didn't have an autumn holiday last year as we were getting DS2 sorted for Uni.

I know there are worse things in the world and some people are struggling financially so I am aware that in many ways we are lucky but something to look forward to would be nice. In other news I have a booking for food in the pub in August!

Malaga substitute Crete, Barcelona, Nice, Naples, Rhodes, Malta, Sardinia - doesn't matter

The point is that Spain was on the green list, now it is shutting beaches and imposing lockdowns. International travel is problematic at the moment because the country you are going to might decide not to allow UK citizens in after you have booked, the UK may change the quarantine rules after you have booked.

The situation is so fluid at the moment booking any foreign holiday is taking a huge chance.

That's a good point rookiemere. Now the FCO advice has changed it may be that insurance companies treat folk not going away due to having to quarantine on return as disinclination to travel ie no payout. Although I wonder if airlines will operate flights if quarantine applies?

Itsallgoing beaches are open and the area we are due to visit has had very low numbers of cases so I don't see how that would lead to 'plane loads of people bringing back and spreading covid'. Less so than visiting crowded tourist spots in England from the pictures of English beaches. Many EU beaches have roped off distancing markers so much safer than here.

Can she not just tell us when she will make a decision? So infuriating, I'm meant to be going next week to join my family in an area which had very few cases. Staycation no bloody chance it was 11 degrees and wet earlier this week here

The situation is so fluid at the moment booking any foreign holiday is taking a huge chance.

Yeah I know however we're talking about lots of us who booked holidays months before covid hit. I'll lose thousands if we don't go on our holiday as our flight is still going so e won't be refunded. I work in a hospital so have worked like a dog since March without a break.

trump and I'm assuming you'd be unable to go if you had to quarantine afterwards?

I am starting to get actual depression, my counsellor is worried about me. I need to have some glimmer of hope of something not doom laden, cold wet and miserable. With nothing to do. Life is just not worth living like this.

@rookiemere yes I would be needed back at work the day after we are supposed to be returning so we'd need to cancel if we don't find out about quarantine soon. I could cry if I thought it would make any difference.
I wouldn't mind if the flight was cancelled and we got a refund. It's the fact the flights are still going so we'll need to cancel instead.

Can she not just tell us when she will make a decision?

Of course not. Power hungry and desperate for everyone to keep tuning in to the daily SNP party political broadcast to see which wee crumbs of hope St Nicola is prepared to offer us.

When are you due to go trump ? Keeping all my fingers crossed for you.

Thing is for those who haven't booked already there's absolutely nothing to stop someone from booking flights from an English airport and as there is no quarantine there, no need to take an address.

It's people in limbo with existing holidays or flights booked from Scottish airports that need clarity. If this means that the 2 week quarantine remains in place until worldwide cases of coronavirus are at zero, well at least people know and can contact their travel agency/airline/insurance accordingly, or indeed try to get their money back from the Scottish government for having unnecessarily strict travel criteria.

@Mascotte - sorry this is having such a negative impact. Has your counsellor been able to help? The benefits of sun and warmth for physical and mental health are well proven not least because of the Vit D boost.

Hang in there - she needs to say something soon and then at least we'll know. It's this limbo of 'we need to consider this seriously' that is difficult. I get that she's being cautious but life needs to go on.

And FWIW sockyarn I totally agree the daily press conferences have run their course. Now they are just an opportunity to press home the lines like 'my priority here is to save lives', 'I don't want to keep lockdown for a minute longer than necessary' , nothing I'm doing is political , and my all time favourite - let me be clear.