Avoid non-essential travel !!!

GBX

nibtrix wrote: »

Been in a queue since 08:00 trying to get “unchecked-in” for a flight today, think I may as well give up at this point.

Back on the queue now. Wouldn't connect to their number for ages. Gonna keep trying. It's the only way my parents won't lose their money.

skinny90

whomitconcerns wrote: »

Nope. Not unless you physically and certified medically can’t travel or the dfa says you cannot travel.

Is there anything the agent can do...move the dates

skinny90

whisky_galore wrote: »

I have no idea why people would still consider travelling if all attractions, bars etc are likely to be closed. Sounds like a shyte holiday to me.

Yeah for me I don’t mind..we are avoiding all the party places.

tombrown

Stratvs wrote: »

The Canaries and Balearics are part of Spain.

But, apart from that early case in a Tenerife hotel, seemingly unaffected.


I have a holiday booked for April there, and RyanAir & AirBnB will only give refunds if travel is prohibited. "Avoid non essential travel" doesn't seem to cut it.


So should I take the risk and treat Tenerife like I would, Austria (for example) which is "Normal Precautions" on the DFA website, and continue with the holiday unless they impose an absolute ban?


Isn't applying the same travel advice on the Canaries as on mainland Spain a bit like saying you shouldn't travel to the Falklands if there is a Coronavirus ban on UK?

Del2005

tombrown wrote: »

But, apart from that early case in a Tenerife hotel, seemingly unaffected.


I have a holiday booked for April there, and RyanAir & AirBnB will only give refunds if travel is prohibited. "Avoid non essential travel" doesn't seem to cut it.


So should I take the risk and treat Tenerife like I would, Austria (for example) which is "Normal Precautions" on the DFA website, and continue with the holiday unless they impose an absolute ban?


Isn't applying the same travel advice on the Canaries as on mainland Spain a bit like saying you shouldn't travel to the Falklands if there is a Coronavirus ban on UK?

The whole world will likely be infected soon so I'd hold out to see. I'm booked to Spain for the end of April. Advise will have changed by then.

homer911

USA Flights not taking off this morning?

As of 10:16 on 14/3, No USA flights have taken off from Dublin. Anyone heard anything?

Ginger83

tombrown wrote: »

But, apart from that early case in a Tenerife hotel, seemingly unaffected.


I have a holiday booked for April there, and RyanAir & AirBnB will only give refunds if travel is prohibited. "Avoid non essential travel" doesn't seem to cut it.


So should I take the risk and treat Tenerife like I would, Austria (for example) which is "Normal Precautions" on the DFA website, and continue with the holiday unless they impose an absolute ban?


Isn't applying the same travel advice on the Canaries as on mainland Spain a bit like saying you shouldn't travel to the Falklands if there is a Coronavirus ban on UK?

We are also booked for Tenerife in April.

johnire

I agree totally with this comment. We’re due to travel to Argentina in a month but no matter where it was I doubt very much we’d be going as what’s the point? Almost certainly all museums,galleries and places of interest will be closed. Everything likelyhood to that restaurants bars and cafes will be shut. So again what’s the point?

whisky_galore wrote: »

I have no idea why people would still consider travelling if all attractions, bars etc are likely to be closed. Sounds like a shyte holiday to me.

Sultan of Bling

tombrown wrote:

But, apart from that early case in a Tenerife hotel, seemingly unaffected.

It's not just the risk of you catching it. There is also a risk you could already have it yourself and pass it on.

You are going to come into contact with hundreds of people at the airport, touch surfaces and be on a plane with recycled air.

The whole idea of the government advisory is to lessen the risk of the disease spreading

tombrown

I dont disagree, but then why dont they apply the same advice to ALL travel?


At the moment there is no advisory restriction on flying to Austria, and yet you would have the same contact with fellow travelers as you would flying to Tenerife


Also - doesn't sitting on a plane constitute being at an "indoor gathering of > 100 people"?

Sultan of Bling

From other threads Tombrown it appears Spanish airspace is closing so our points maybe moot.

Ginger83

tombrown wrote: »

I dont disagree, but then why dont they apply the same advice to ALL travel?


At the moment there is no advisory restriction on flying to Austria, and yet you would have the same contact with fellow travelers as you would flying to Tenerife


Also - doesn't sitting on a plane constitute being at an "indoor gathering of > 100 people"?

I'm going and I've a terminal condition

kingshankly

Ginger83 wrote: »

I'm going and I've a terminal condition

The mind boggles

Die Hard 2019

People are still not taking this seriously, I understand that if one has a terminal condition you might think you can't be waiting round to have some fun but other peoe should realise that they need to postpone everything till we get this virus under control.

tombrown

Die Hard 2019 wrote: »

People are still not taking this seriously, I understand that if one has a terminal condition you might think you can't be waiting round to have some fun but other peoe should realise that they need to postpone everything till we get this virus under control.

Fair enough - but then why is the DFA being "half hearted" about travel advice - "No non essential travel" rather than "Do not travel" for Spain (they have the latter for Italy); "Business as usual" for Austria & other European countries when it means that to go there you will have to sit in a sealed metal tube with 200 others for a couple of hours.


They should just come out & close the airports for all but emergency & humanitarian services, and take the decision away from people. But, no, that may mean they have to compensate airlines , and so its better to let the public play russian roulette with travel decisions, and let them carry the cost, themselves, for any cancellations

Caranica

tombrown wrote: »

Fair enough - but then why is the DFA being "half hearted" about travel advice - "No non essential travel" rather than "Do not travel" for Spain (they have the latter for Italy);

Italy was "avoid all non essential travel" for the guts of a week before it switched to do not travel. The DFA is not being half hearted, they're liaising with local governments and the EU. They can't just unilaterally ban travel to another EU state!!

imfml

homer911 wrote: »

USA Flights not taking off this morning?

As of 10:16 on 14/3, No USA flights have taken off from Dublin. Anyone heard anything?

They will be departing, I hear US pre clearance is unusually busy and slow, understandably so given its day 1 of the new travel guidelines

Ginger83

kingshankly wrote: »

The mind boggles

There is about 25 times more cases here than Tenerife. 1 case there.

coylemj

imfml wrote: »

They will be departing, I hear US pre clearance is unusually busy and slow, understandably so given its day 1 of the new travel guidelines

+1 anyone with a Schengen zone passport will be getting extra questions asked of them. Even if they've lived in Ireland for the past 10 years and not been outside the country this year.

Irish and UK passport holders will also be asked about recent travel, like if they've been to a Schengen country in the past 14 days.

kingshankly

Ginger83 wrote: »

There is about 25 times more cases here than Tenerife. 1 case there.

What about the airport what about the plane what about bringing it over there

Ginger83

kingshankly wrote: »

What about the airport what about the plane what about bringing it over there

What about going shopping

revelman

Was supposed to by flying to Poland this morning, coming back on Tuesday. Obviously I didn’t even turn up at the airport given the Polish government’s announcement that they are closing their borders tonight. Nothing whatsoever by way of information from the airline. I guess they are overwhelmed but still...

Stratvs

tombrown wrote: »

Isn't applying the same travel advice on the Canaries as on mainland Spain a bit like saying you shouldn't travel to the Falklands if there is a Coronavirus ban on UK?

Tourists to Falklands 2018 - land based 5,500 cruise based 62,000 total 67,500.

Tourists to the four main Canary Islands 2019 15.25 million.

Small difference.

Acosta

Ginger83 wrote: »

There is about 25 times more cases here than Tenerife. 1 case there.

A plane is the last place you want to be with someone that has it.

STB.

Anyone traveling during a pandemic needs their head tested.


Europe has passed the Chinese infection figures and the Chinese have over twice the population (1.7bn) of Europe.

And for those that do, I hope that the doors haven't closed to getting out of the country you travel to or back here in the meantime.

The current advisory is to stay away from crowds, at home preferably, to slow down the contagion so that we can treat people and not make decisions on who to treat and who not to treat. FFS

the purple tin

I wouldn't fancy breathing other passengers recycled air for the duration of the flight, pinned in between a couple of coughers. Great way to spread the virus.

tombrown

Stratvs wrote: »

Tourists to Falklands 2018 - land based 5,500 cruise based 62,000 total 67,500.

Tourists to the four main Canary Islands 2019 15.25 million.

Small difference.

Yes of course there's a difference. But you are, deliberately I assume, missing the point - which was why should an advisory that is based on the conditions in mainland Spain, be applied to an Island that is 1400 km away, just by virtue that it is a Spanish Territory.


Guernsey is actually closer to Spain than Tenerife is, for example, but as it is British territory it is supposedly OK.


Anyway it is a moot point as I am 99% certain not to be traveling, I'm just questioning the logic being applied by the DFA

STB.

tombrown wrote: »

Anyway it is a moot point as I am 99% certain not to be traveling, I'm just questioning the logic being applied by the DFA

There is no logic at present. But there will be when the shut all traffic to and from this country.......

...........because people cannot be trusted to have a bit of cop on.

Why are people going to Spain ? Why ? They have just announced a national emergency over there and called in the army, such is the spread of the virus.

Stay at home, away from people. Its not a drill.

Leroy42

There is a massive difference in 'Do not travel' and 'Avoid non essential travel'.

The second one though is still pretty clear. Having already paid, or wanting to go, are not cases of essential travel. It means do not travel unless you have to.

tombrown

Leroy42 wrote: »

There is a massive difference in 'Do not travel' and 'Avoid non essential travel'.

The second one though is still pretty clear. Having already paid, or wanting to go, are not cases of essential travel. It means do not travel unless you have to.

Yes, but, unfortunately, it also means RyanAir don't have to refund your flight, which is, I suspect, part of the reasoning behind that classification