Travel ban? Passengers come to Ireland on multiple flights today

Airline passengers can still travel to Ireland on any one of 42 flights scheduled to arrive in Belfast and Derry today. This is despite a 48-hour ban on journeys from Britain to the Republic as of midnight Sunday.

One aircraft arriving into Belfast from London this afternoon was said to contain more than 100 passengers, according to one woman aboard. These travellers are due to proceed to Dublin on a coach provided by the airline, she said.

The source said her flight was “not 100 per cent full” but about 135 were aboard with many rows containing three passengers. This flight was filled with people who had booked to fly to Dublin with the airline on Sunday, but could not travel as it was overbooked, she added.

“There was zero social distancing in Terminal 2 [in Heathrow] last night . . . but almost everyone had masks on at all times,” she said.

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A spokeswoman for Belfast International Airport said it had been expected that Tuesday and Wednesday would be the busiest days for Christmas travel at the airport. But she anticipates lower numbers due to the restrictions in Britain.

The travel ban between mainland Britain and the Republic was imposed as a precautionary measure. This followed an announcement by the British government that a coronavirus mutation has been spreading widely in London and the southeast of England.

Northern Ireland is the only UK entity that has not yet initiated a travel ban or made changes to Christmas restrictions. Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon has imposed a travel prohibition between Scotland and the rest of the UK for the festive period. People living in Wales went into lockdown at midnight, while those living in London and England’s southeast have been placed in Tier 4 – the most restrictive – over Christmas.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster it is “probable” the new strain detected in London is already in the North and Republic also. She said four cases in NI have been detected as having a “different sequencing than others”. Samples from these have been sent to England for examination, she added.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said the travel ban to and from Britain will allow the Government to assess how the new strain spreads and to work with the UK government and European colleagues to determine action.