Travellers who had been aboard the covid-19 stricken Braemar cruise ship, operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, react as they arrive at Heathrow Airport in London on March 19, 2020, after being flown back from Cuba. - The MS Braemar had more than 1,000 people aboard including five confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 50 people in isolation due to showing flu-like symptoms. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / various sources / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)

Are you still waiting to return to UK from Madeira?

Tobi Hughes·
Madeira News

Thanks to John Cleary for this comment he left on my blog. I think it’s good to put in a blog post here as I know not everyone reads comments or may have missed it.

Problem No1) My last 2 flights to Funchal with BA were booked for Gatwick and changed to Heathrow nearer departure date, so please be very wary when booking Airport Hotels, Airport Parking and Taxis.

Problem No 2) If you are planning to fly back to the UK anytime soon, the Portuguese Government waived the need for a visa as those people marooned in Madeira obviously couldn’t fly home BUT if you fly back via Zurich, this waiver goes out the window, last Sat 3rd April, about 12 of us had our passports taken off us at Zurich Airport and we were marched off (when I say marched, that included wheelchairs and walking sticks) by a senior Polizia, he thought we had deliberately overstayed our time in Funchal, one spokesperson (Michelle) told them we weren’t a group of 12 and last Sat was our first opportunity to leave Madeira, he couldn’t believe that insurers wouldn’t pay out for our extended stay, felt sorry for us and stamped our passports and let us go.

Problem No 3) Two of our fellow passengers (he 81 she 78) were not allowed to fly to London from Zurich as the wifi in the airport boarding area is rubbish and they couldn’t find or access their documents on their phones, the knock on effect was they had to cancel their overnight stay at Heathrow, they had to cancel their Sun flight to Newcastle, they had to stay in a transit hotel overnight in Zurich airport, they had to rebook a flight to London on Sunday, they had to rebook a night in hotel in Heathrow and they had to rebook a flight to Newcastle on Mon, arriving home Mon night after leaving their hotel 7.45 am Sat morning.

Please Please Please print off all documentation required to get you through the airports, we had to show ours 3 times, FUN/ZUR/LON

Hi Tobi, maybe you can highlight some of what I have said on a separate Blog just in case there are still people in Madeira without visas or printed paperwork.

Apart from that Have a nice weekend. (I’m still in isolation).

Previous ArticleClinical director of SESARAM considers increase of cases inevitable in May
Next ArticleBrexit small print threatens fines for ‘tens of thousands of UK resident Portuguese, Brits with second homes in Portugal’
Tobi Hughes

11 Responses

  1. A crazy situation, everyone knows that flights had been stopped on numerous routes and that people had had little choice in over-staying their trips abroad. A bit of flexibility and common sense should have prevailed.

    1. Except it has been possible to get back via multileg transfers for a long time so to a large extent it is a choice to stay here.

  2. It sounds as if the passport people in Zurich were flexible. They stamped their passports and gave them back instead of demanding a visa. Its actually a bit unusual for Swiss officials to be flexible.
    I was recently denied boarding at Zurich en-route to Madeira as I didn’t have a PCR test although I am fully vaccinated and had proof with me, because although Madeira accepts this, Lisbon doesn’t and the flight transits through Lisbon with a 2 hour stopover. Of course in Lisbon there is no control whatsoever when you transit as to whether you have PCR test or not. Something else to beware of when you travel.

  3. Xenophobic Zurich police have a bad reputation for arresting and incarcerating innocent people. I lived there for many years. My advice is fly to UK via Lisbon, never Zurich

  4. It’s very sad, the EU is far from perfect but freedom of movement is not to be taken for granted. Can’t believe that some of the people returning from EU countries actually voted for Brexit,

  5. Thank you for this helpful. Hopefully will make the Journey home next Sunday on TAP via Lisbon to Heathrow. We hear that there are long queues at Heathrow. John does not mention this. Has anyone any experience of this.

  6. TAP have been selling direct flights from Lisbon to London from the start of April, all of which have of course been cancelled. I have friends who were caught out by this. Until such time as you know for definite that direct flights between Portugal and the UK have been restablished, I personally wouldn’t bank on them. If you need to sure that you will get home, route through another country between Portugal and the UK.

  7. Hi Joe Wright, there are no flights to UK via Lisbon until 18th April.
    Hi Vic, there are no queues at Heathrow T2 it took us 15 mins to get through but I’m not sure about T5
    Hi Jane, when people don’t have something constructive to say, they blame Brexit

  8. Hi Steve, my taxi driver took 2 people to the airport in early March to fly home via Germany (not sure what city) but they were turned away at the check in desk as they were not German.
    Getting back is easier said than done especially when you take into consideration health issues, wheelchairs, age group, booking overnight hotel stays etc
    PS I am sure people have deliberately extended their stay BUT not realising their extension to stay without a visa in Madeira is not valid in the rest of Europe, not everyone reads Tobi’s Blogs everyday for the latest news.

    1. It’s complicated by BREXIT. If people want to know all the various rules about whether transit is allowed etc. this is a good site https://reopen.europa.eu/en/ but remember if you don’t have Portuguese residency you are not covered by rules for EU citizens.

Comments are closed.

© 2023 Madeira Island News | Privacy Policy