Welcome home, says Raab as stranded Britons return

FOREIGN SECRETARY Dominic Raab has sent a “welcome back” message to Britons who had been stranded abroad during the pandemic.

His message came after more than 100 travellers, who had been in Ecuador and Bolivia – as well as 150 who were in Ghana – touched down in Britain on special charter flights, but more travellers are still struggling to find their way home.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office told their direct dependants it was likely to be “the last opportunity” to travel from those regions to the UK “for some time”.

The FCO has issued advice “against all but essential international travel” in the face of the growing number of border and movement restrictions being imposed around the world.

Warning that countries “may restrict travel without notice”, the FCO said special government-chartered flights to the UK would only operate for priority countries where commercial flights were not possible and travellers should not assume these flights would be available in countries where commercial routes were still operating.

The FCO has extended its advice against travelling overseas.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, believes it is the right option but could “cause a huge amount of confusion for anyone who has foreign travel booked in the months ahead”.

He prefers “a definitive date, which can be reviewed if needed, so that travellers

‘Travellers [need] some much-needed clarity around refunds, rebooking or claiming on insurance’

have some much-needed clarity around refunds, rebooking or claiming on insurance”.

There are now 14 airlines included in the Government’s scheme to get Britons home – which has seen 1,450 travellers return on specially-chartered flights since March 30. These companies include Air Tanker, Blue Islands, British Airways, Eastern Airways, easyjet, Jet2.com, Jota Aviation, Loganair, Norwegian, Ryanair, Titan Airways, TUI, Virgin and Wizz.