COSTA ANNOUNCES INTERRUPTION OF FLIGHTS WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM SATURDAY

Tobi Hughes·
Madeira News

The Prime Minister announced today that, as of Saturday, there will be a total interruption of flights between Portugal and the United Kingdom, with the exception of those that are of a humanitarian nature to repatriate Portuguese and British citizens.

António Costa announced this measure after having participated by videoconference in an informal summit of European Union leaders aimed at coordinating measures to combat covid-19 among the Member States.

According to the prime minister, during this informal meeting of leaders of the European Union, there was, globally, “a manifestation of great concern regarding the development of the pandemic, namely with regard to the growth driven by the new  variant discovered in the UK, especially in countries that have closer relations with the United Kingdom, as in Portugal “.

In terms of borders, António Costa considered that the “most important” decision taken at the informal summit was precisely related to the end of flights to the United Kingdom, or from the United Kingdom to Portugal.

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Tobi Hughes

36 Responses

  1. Very sadly we shouldn’t be at all surprised at this news…our BA LHR-FNC and FNC-LHR flights on 21 Feb and 10 Mar respectively have already been cancelled this week yet, very strangely, BA have chosen to reschedule our return flight alone to 12 Mar. Very odd this….how can they return us on that date if they’ve not already flown us out? We can’t wait to return to our beloved Madeira ??

    Does this announcement re Portugal flights apply equally to Madeira flights please?

    Keep safe and well everyone ???

    2. Our easyJet flight from Bristol at end of February was cancelled earlier this week. But not the return flight in March.
      Interesting to see what happens as obviously won’t be there, as you say.

  2. We were due to come out on the 8th March with Jet2. Last week we got an email from them saying all flights to Madeira were cancelled up to the 25th March. Really disappointed was so looking forward to seeing Madeira again.

  3. Very sensible decision at the present moment. To keep madeirans safe, we are struggling here in the UK Hospitals under great strain and still citizens not staying home flocking to the parks, beaches etc for exercise but meeting up with family and friends. Until vaccination is on top of the pandemic we should not travel full stop.

    1. Janet, I don’t think many are flocking to the beaches, it’s January. As for the parks we have over 200 flood warnings.

  4. We have now had 2 trips to Funchal cancelled, not that I would have felt safe travelling but we know it is for the best. The U.K. is losing so many people it is so scary. The thought of flying with all those strangers is frightening.

    Our PM thinks we will have lockdown until May. We have had our next cruise cancelled this week, to sail in April and been told unless everyone has their jabs they will not be able to cruise when we return to “ normal”. Good idea for everyone when travelling as some people feel they are exempt and don’t need the jab. No jab no travel, sounds a lot safer that way.

    1. Good luck people maderia is still to go into lockdown . Restaurants bars shops all open covid has taken over . they are not keeping people safe as always economy first . you will be lucky to get to maderia for a holiday this year.

      1. Madeira will not lock down, it will have to get much worse for that to happen, we have less than 1% of active cases at the moment. I guess you are sitting on your pension and don’t need to earn money.

        1. Hi Tobi,

          Thank you for keeping us informed. I have been relying on your blog for up-to-date information. Can you please share the link to the 1% positivity rate claim? Thank you.

  5. Excuses excuses. The Portuguese government mentioned nothing of the Brazilian mutant strain of Covid imported into Country yet are fearful of the strain the UK had announced, which incidentally, is and was elsewhere on the European continent.

    Its “tit for tat” if you ask me.

    1. Right now there is an anti-UK mood within the EU. Hold ups moving goods, various EU officials sniping at the UK etc. Basically the EU baby has thrown its dummy out of the pram post-Brexit. Give it a while and things will settle down.

  6. Strange, the Portuguese authorities seem to think that the virus is being spread from the UK.
    I wonder why that is? Couldn’t be anything to do with facts on the ground could it?

    1. It’s fact that the strain found in the UK, was brought over here by Emigrants. It doesn’t matter where it comes from its a new strain and is spreading fast

  7. Now they need to urgently think about suspending flights from Brazil, Venezuela and S. Africa

  9. Easyjet has suspended all flights from Gatwick until the end of March, not just Portugal.

  10. M .. The british germans scandinavians etc etc.
    bring the money and tourism to madeira . Brazil south africa venezuela it’s a different kind of love and respect.

  11. 20,000 Madeirans now unemployed but they are not yet observing the rules! Heard of party last week, one whole family now has covid, alter boy has affected Church and school closed down.
    400 people attended a wedding in London and only the organiser was fined £12,000 and 5 others £200, while the rest of us are observing lockdown. People breaking self-isolation rules etc. etc.
    These people need to have the ‘book’ thrown at them!
    In the meantime, since we cannot travel to Madeira and use our home there, is the Madeiran Government going to refund our property tax, Meo charges, road tax on car we cannot use?

    1. Anna, as soon as you have had the Covid vaccine, and I am guessing both jabs, you will be able to return to the island. Snr Albuquerque wants to get the island opened up to Britons asap.

    2. If the Madeirean Govt has advised residents not to leave the island during the pandemic why would it refund you for not following the advice? Did they force you to go back to UK or was that something you decided to do by yourself?

  12. Anne you will be allowed back into madeira .
    regardless of having a vaccine or not
    covid test before arrive sould be ok at this time .
    as for refunds on taxes ? I would say no unfortunately.

  13. To be fair Anne, plenty of people in the UK have holiday homes ( within the uk) .They can’t travel to them either because they are outside their tiers . They still have to pay council tax , standing charges for utilities etc.
    Governments cannot be expected to fund these bills . It’s your choice to have a second home wherever it may be .

  14. Anna you would be lucky to get back to island this year let alone receive any refunds from the
    government

  15. There seems to be a misconception that having the vaccine means you cannot spread it.. not sure that this is the case..

    Given the postings here that a vaccine passport is the way to open up tourism, there would be a mass uprising if, given the young have been locked down to keep the elderly safe and let’s face it they are the ones who will pay the price for doing so, that they aren’t allowed to travel until they’ve had the vaccine and this could be at the earliest August meanwhile all the oldies are off in their jollies ! …. there would be hell to pay .

    Agree with earlier posting this flight ban to the UK is Brexit payback this is not a variant that originated in the UK and is already on the EU continent ..beware of too much anti Britishness we are a fickle lot and don’t like been bullied !

    1. Agree that the young are paying a price. We need to be aware and sensitive to this. In the UK they will also have to deal with the medium/long term costs of Brexit, foisted upon them mostly by old gits who think that the UK can return to some fictional “glorious” colonial past. A shame really.

  16. One would assume that there will be some flights between Portugal/Madeira/Azores and the UK as the Prime Minister clearly states in his first sentence that Portuguese and British Citizens can be repatriated.
    Bit difficult if there are no Flights, Maybe TAP will be running flights.

  17. There are no repatriation flights, I am stuck in the Uk and my home is in Madeira! I am forced to sit it out here. Not that I am moaning as regardless of what you see on your tv things are not as bad as they are telling you. I was in tears this morning as I was struggling with the idea of trying to come home or to stay here with my family….do I go back to my house and spend the curfews and lockdowns on my own…as I have done all of last year, with no interaction with a human being for weeks on end and a completely dead business? No government help for me neither…I still have to pay my accountant 250 euros a month to fill in a zero on a form, pay my social security and bills on 3 properties that are empty. I don’t have Covid, not likely to catch it, keeping my immune system in shape but the mental torture of this far out weighs my fear of the virus. I will not be bullied into a vaccine either and that terrifies me that this is going to become Mandatory as well. And when I can eventually get home, what am I coming back to? Life will never be the same….and the island will not recover from this like people think…its going to be a very long, hard slog. Mass unemployment, poverty….and minimal tourism …..it won’t matter in reality if they force a vaccine passport as our politicians all over the world have destroyed our economies and we are going to pay for it for years to come. Bottom line who will have money to holiday in the future apart from Matt Wancock, Doris and his crew who are reaping the commissions on dolling out the vaccines. Don’t be surprised if the Dictator in Madeira has shares in it too!

    1. Sammy, a) The strength or otherwise of your immune system won’t save you. The virus is new and won’t be recognised you it. b) the only way to get your immune system to recognise the virus in your body other than by being infected previously is to have a vaccine. c) get yourself vaccinated.

  18. Why the rhetoric – anti UK

    If you cancel your membership from anything you cannot expect the same privileges.
    It was projected that both travel and export would not be as we know it.
    Changes work both ways.

    The Fisheries recent rhetoric is that it was not what they signed up for, what did they expect .
    It appears some folk will never except change when it does not suite.. then the need to blame
    others raises its head.

    Other Countries have the right to impose what they feel is best for them just as the UK does.

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