British Airways cancels BA1, London City to New York, and Beirut

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• Dave Barron says:

  12 Mar12 March 06:41

  I’ve got Avios flights booked from LHR to ORD (Chicago) on 3rd April so hopefully matters won’t escalate to prevent this family holiday going ahead. I presume if matters do escalate then EU261 wouldn’t be payable even if flights were cancelled within 14 days? Even if Coronavirus isn’t an exceptional circumstance in terms of EU261 I assume Donald Trumps travel ban if extended would be?

  Off topic I’ve yet to book our hire car and am increasingly reluctant to book pre-paying for it until much closer to departure – although not surprisingly I am checking the costs daily and they are reducing massively (via BA and Avis).

  • Tom says:

    12 Mar12 March 06:50

    I’m due on a family holiday to ORD from 4 April and there is no way we are going.. even if Trump lets us in! Sad to be losing 4 first class seats..but just hoping BA come to their senses and allow a greater level of refunds (one of our tickets is a cash ticket that I don’t think can be refunded..). Then it is just a small matter of all the prepaid accommodation…

    • Anna says:

      12 Mar12 March 07:08

      Is Chicago particularly a risk? I wouldn’t be going to any theme parks right now but I can’t see you’d be massively vulnerable round the Great Lakes etc. Or do you mean MCO (Orlando)?

      • Dave Barron says:

        12 Mar12 March 08:06

        Yes we are going to Chicago (hopefully) to see family – driving from Illinois to Michigan. No more risks in Chicago than anywhere else as far as I’m aware. Simply need to to understand impacts should flights from UK be impacted like those from mainland Europe.

    • Stagger Lee says:

      12 Mar12 March 10:37

      We’ve got a Texas road trip planned, leaving on 3rd April. It’s a 2 for 1 voucher booking so can hang fire until very near the actual date. We’ve booked some hotels, luckily refundable rates, so can cancel the whole thing without much loss. But…..do we want too is the big question as places will be a lot quieter than normal which would suit us perfectly.

      I suspect the whole thing will be taken out of hands though and it will all have to be cancelled. Understandable but frustrating as it would be 2nd times I’d had to cancel this trip after y Dad was taken seriously ill the day before we were due to fly back in 2017.

  • Allan says:

    12 Mar12 March 07:12

    Are Amex platinum insurance going to cover these types of cancellations if BA were to cancel a flight to USA for example?

• Don says:

  12 Mar12 March 06:50

  Mr Trump has done the right thing. Open borders has helped spread this Wuhan flu. It’s in the U.K. because Mr Johnson has failed to close the borders quick enough or at the very least instigate some measures. I’m sure we have all seen the reports saying as recently as Monday ZERO checks and questioning was taking place for pax returning from Italy. That is disgraceful.

  It was reported on the BBC yesterday that temperature checks ARE effective at catching a lot of cases; which simply is not possible at Schengen borders. They have deliberately not taken measures to check even though in the treaties it is possible. Who cares what the Commission says, they’re happy to turn a blind eye to Germany and France. No country has even suspended Schengen which is not a terribly unusual measure if you look at NATO meetings in the past, this was often deployed to help ensure security.

  An Italian friend of mine from Uni is a Doc back in Italy, Edinburgh alumni. A big Rugby playing guy. He was sobbing on the phone at the situations he is dealing with in hospital in Italy where they simply don’t have the resources to deal with cases that in ordinary times would have a full level of care. There’s a similar thread on Twitter from a U.K. doc reposting what he has heard from Italy.

  A sledgehammer to crack a nut is the right strategy to protect your citizens for what is a temporary measure.

  • Waribai says:

    12 Mar12 March 07:13

    Any predictions about the outcome of the Cobra meeting at lunchtime?

    • Heathrow Flyer says:

      12 Mar12 March 07:25

      I predict school closures.

      You read it here first.

      • Shoestring says:

        12 Mar12 March 07:37

        you obvs weren’t reading the comments last night, when we discussed it

        my view is still that on balance they won’t announce immediate school closures because:
        – not necessary yet
        – spreads a certain panic
        – announcing a date such as midweek next week allows schools to set homework etc in a calm & measured way
        – they’re worried about ‘wear out’ factor with regard to moving into ‘Delay’ phase – ie non compliance after a few days/ couple of weeks – going too soon means ‘wear out’ day comes sooner, too
        – could follow the example of France, which has closed a few schools in defined areas where there is a higher risk, but most schools remain open as usual

        • Cat says:

          12 Mar12 March 07:57

          I’d be interested to to read that, Wednesday night is my babysitting night with my nieces, so I struggle to get my marking done and keep up with comments! Which article is that on?

          It is very, very likely that schools will be closed soon. Schools have been preparing for this for the last week. In our school, all departments now have bulk packs of work to hand to year 11 and year 13 (as their exams are imminent), just in case. We all have been instructed to make sure you can log in to the school system remotely. Our class lists and passwords are up to date on MyMaths.

          I can’t speak for all schools, but any halfway decent one that has their sh!t together will be prepared for this!

        • Heathrow Flyer says:

          12 Mar12 March 11:45

          Ireland has gone first.

          Still confident, Harry?

    • Will says:

      12 Mar12 March 08:30

      No idea of predictions but right now 200,000+ people are in Cheltenham over 4 days spending all day drinking together and staying together crammed into pubs until the early hours drinking, dancing and hugging.

      The arrived from all over the U.K. and Ireland and will return shortly.

      It’s quite unbelievable that it’s gone ahead, aside from a music festival it’s got to be the most person to person contact possible across 4 days due to the number of people and close proximity.

      Many residents are quite rightly outraged.

      • Andrew says:

        12 Mar12 March 08:50

        “Most person to person contact”?

        Doubt it. Students have had to be reminded that “quarantine” doesn’t mean killing time by going onto “Gander” or “Tander” and arranging sequential intimate liasons.

    • mr_jetlag says:

      12 Mar12 March 09:40

      School closures, WFH and ban on mass gatherings I think. No way will they close borders to Schengen unless they want Brexit nego’s to go nuclear

      • Lady London says:

        12 Mar12 March 14:49

        Personally I think the tax on EU citizens , the so-called NHS taxannounced by the chancellor yesterday was mean minded and will only aggravate retaliation.

  • Marcw says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:48

    Interestingly Italy was the only EU country to cancel all flights to from China.

    • maccymac says:

      12 Mar12 March 10:02

      Their situation might have been much worse if they hadn’t

• Mart says:

  12 Mar12 March 07:09

  We Are due to fly to Madrid from Manchester Sunday ,we got a email saying cancelled so we phoned for options and were then told it isn’t cancelled ?
  The flight is still there to book in business only not economy?
  We are due to fly to Rio from Madrid Tuesday to join a cruise ,cannot see this vacation running smoothly !

  • Polly says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:09

    Keep,us posted, sounds like a plan that could go very wrong…are you still sure you want to be on that cruise?

    • Mart says:

      12 Mar12 March 08:16

      Not really but will lose alot of hard earned cash , insurance doesn’t want to know

  • Waribai says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:59

    My mother is on a cruise round Portugal and Spain albeit no flying involved, sailed straight out of Southampton. She went because she didn’t want to lose the cash. Insurance certainly weren’t going to pay out. I think most people on board are ‘in the same boat’………

• Anna says:

  12 Mar12 March 07:10

  What about the literally millions of EU passport holders who live in the UK but may not have been to the Schengen zone for months? Also how will they know who has visited there recently?

  • Simon says:

    12 Mar12 March 07:18

    I assume that they’ll rely on the same approach as they use in the ESTA, with its bullet proof “have you committed moral turpitude… answering yes may prevent your entry” style.

  • meta says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:32

    Dual nationality is the way to go in times of coronavirus.

  • Rob says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:43

    I think you can safely assume all of your movements are tracked via passport swipes.

    • Matty says:

      12 Mar12 March 08:52

      I can confirm that they are on e-borders, it also tracks when you check in for flights and has full manifests. There is also a logic to it as UK scan passport for every entry whereas across the schengen area there are zero or limited checks so they would not know which countries someone had travelled through.

    • meta says:

      12 Mar12 March 08:58

      You go and come back to UK on let’s say your European passport or even better EU identity card then fly to US with you UK passport. Then if you fly on a different airline or take Eurostar, I doubt they will be able to track. Also there are still some people with old non-biometric passports…

      • Doug M says:

        12 Mar12 March 09:20

        Why would you do this? Regardless of personal view of elected politicians I try to respect rules of country I’m visiting. I’m hardly proud of any of the UK governments of recent times, regardless I would expect visitors to respect rules imposed.

        • meta says:

          12 Mar12 March 09:30

          I wouldn’t. I am just highlighting here that there are flaws in this policy and some people will inevitably exploit it.

      • Lady London says:

        12 Mar12 March 13:49

        Don’t get on it. I believe Eurostar is plugged into govt systems similar to airlines and that means the West basically has every step you took.

        Lie about anything to US Immigration Officer and it will affect the rest of your life. It’s bad enough already entering some ports there even totally legit and with excellent US travel history.

        Always assume data is shared now or ca be deeper researched across countries on demand. Even your phone records.

        • Lady London says:

          12 Mar12 March 13:53

          To be quite clear, there are no flaws @meta. Attempt to conceal anything from a US Immigration officer and you will be in a world of pain.

          Depending on the port they can actually be quite friendly if the rules allow them to be. If you have anything borderline disclosure is always best.

        • Anna says:

          12 Mar12 March 15:54

          Lol, I get so nervous when they ask me when I was last in the States in case I answer wrong and get banned for life! (As they know full well when you were last there it must be an attempt to catch you out).

• Patrick says:

  12 Mar12 March 07:14

  Trump manages to make yet another useless stupid move out of pure populism that will not help a single bit instead of focussing on research funding he cut or maybe helping hi citizens whose healthcare he took away.
  \Why on earth would limiting it to the Schengen area help? This is just a stab at open borders which he despises. Extremely sad (and dumb) as a policy

  • Anna says:

    12 Mar12 March 07:23

    I think some travel restrictions are helpful (on cruise ships for example) but I can’t really see that open borders within the EU are any more of a health risk than those between the different states of America!

  • Henry says:

    12 Mar12 March 07:32

    ‘Why on earth would limiting it to the Schengen area help?’
    You not seen Italy then?
    How is stopping people coming into America dumb when experts say that stopping the movement of people will help to reduce the infection curve?

    • Anna says:

      12 Mar12 March 07:43

      But how is someone travelling, say from Belgium to Florida any more of a risk than someone travelling to Florida from California? It seems a bit arbitrary (and political).

    • Andy says:

      12 Mar12 March 07:53

      But you can be an American citizen and fly Tyo Italy and come back to the US without any issues. It’s only residents of the Schengen area who aren’t allowed in. It makes no sense. They could travel to Ireland or the UK and get a flight from there if they wanted and that is fine…

      • Cat says:

        12 Mar12 March 08:10

        Why is anyone surprised it makes no sense. Trump is the president, and Pence is in charge of responding to this outbreak. Of course it makes no sense.

        • Shoestring says:

          12 Mar12 March 08:39

          well, it does make some sense – Schengen area citizens are penalised in terms of ability to travel to USA whereas US citizens are free to travel

          Australia has similar rules, ie look after your own citizens better

          and it *does* make sense to use this strategy to delay the transmission rate of Covid-19, you’re just not delaying it quite as well/ watertight as banning US citizens from flying into US from Europe as well

      • Will says:

        12 Mar12 March 08:14

        I’d assume there will be screening for anyone who’s returning.

        Europe, and I’m not excluding the U.K. from this, appears to have multiple local exponentially increasing clusters and no coherent plan to limit the spread. It’s hard to see how it can contain it in the same way China appears to have.

        That said I’ve no reason to believe it’s any better in the USA, they haven’t been testing out there rigorously so who knows what the lay if the land is?

        Failure to take this seriously early on has cost us a lot here.

  • AJA says:

    12 Mar12 March 09:59

    Could it be that Trump is misguidedly working on the fact that the number of infections is much higher in countries in the Schengen Area when compared to the currently reported numbers here in the UK and Ireland.?

    I am sure it’s only a matter of time before the UK and Ireland gets added to the ban.

    And what’s the difference between what he’s done and what happened initially when restrictions were only imposed on China but gradually got extended to more and more countries? It’s also not that different to the restrictions Israel imposed on certain EU countries before extending it worldwide (which was also a way of avoiding insulting it’s major ally, the US)?

    Also India yesterday arbitrarily revoked all foreign visas. Are you critical of that action too?

    I know Trump is reviled but at least he is finally reacting to the pandemic that some here described as a mild pussycat virus.

    • Spursdebs says:

      12 Mar12 March 10:16

      It wouldn’t matter if Trump cured cancer, stopped all wars and discovered a cure for latest virus, he will still be orange man bad to some.

  • Lady London says:

    12 Mar12 March 13:55

    It’s his patriotic sell and miraculously may ALS be a way of reopening trade negotiations to improve access and terms for the US.

• Anna says:

  12 Mar12 March 07:31

  OT but bits – I am still getting a seemingly unlimited flow from IHG-Curve-Revolut, though I am keeping it at £200 per day and paying off Creation as I go along!

  • Benilyn says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:21

    Do you keep it in Revolut? If so fine. If you take it out of Revolut, be careful, they will warn you. They did to me so have stopped 😥

  • TGLoyalty says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:39

    Why use curve? Or is it curve allowing it to be unlimited and IHg direct isn’t?

    The MCC is passed straight through so curve shouldn’t really make a difference.

    • Anna says:

      12 Mar12 March 08:54

      For some reason IHG itself and Curve seem to being treated as separate entities at the moment. But yes, I am going to complete this month’s donations to seagull welfare then have a break!

      • Lady London says:

        12 Mar12 March 23:57

        Or you might be better to carry on until you get any contact as recommencing after a gap may actually raise a flag in itself but unchanged behaviour may not.

• Balloon dur says:

  12 Mar12 March 07:31

  I worry this could cause insurance companies to start seeing ex-eu travel differently to ex-uk if claims spike because of this.

  It’s beside the point that I’ve never claimed in twenty years. I prefer not to, unless the airline or hotel cannot make good on their promises. People here don’t like this approach, but I am against the claim culture etc.

  • Jcp says:

    12 Mar12 March 08:00

    I think we can conclude that whilst you should always have travel insurance, it’s actually pretty useless when you actually need it

    • mr_jetlag says:

      12 Mar12 March 09:54

      insurance works in micro i.e. individual misfortunes, but not in the aggregate. Claims for global events and force majeure would bankrupt the industry hence most policies have those exemptions. It’s unfortunate but take comfort in the fact that everyone is feeling the same collective pain. We have Sri Lanka holidays for Easter that are unlikely to happen if they adopt the Indian stance. I grind my teeth and cross my fingers (and post on HFP!), but hey ho.

    • Lady London says:

      12 Mar12 March 14:26

      I am exactly the same. Two times in past 12 months I was offered eu261 accommodation for flight delay but I could stay longer at moderate cost to myself and the flight delay was not the fault of the airline so I swallowed the extra cost myself. In a widespread catastrophe though I would need to claim. I only take any form of insurance to cover for extremes and also haven’t had to claim but bought decades of annual travel insurance.

      Trouble is, smarter people on here do claim for everything based on the fact that the insurance industry will rapidly change its ts and c’s to exclude claims for large scale events and many insurers contest claims unjustly.

• PaulC says:

  12 Mar12 March 07:54

  OT – Does Virgin allow payments to Brighton via Curve?

  • xcalx says:

    12 Mar12 March 07:59

    Works for me.

    • John G says:

      12 Mar12 March 08:18

      Interesting. So you can use curve linked to your VS card to pay off your “Brighton” bill? I’ve been missing out!

      • Waribai says:

        12 Mar12 March 09:05

        It does work but………..after a couple of large transactions via that route expect some contact from Curve…….That was my experience………YMMV

      • Polly says:

        12 Mar12 March 23:28

        John, always best to do some normal spends a few times before and after the seagulls are due a visit. Then you avoid the warning email.

  • stevenhp1987 says:

    12 Mar12 March 09:58

    It even works paying off Necker Island itself…

    • RTS says:

      12 Mar12 March 12:21

      Really?! No way….

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