UK Air travel suspended for 48 hours from midnight *Mod Warning in OP Please Read*

The Government is to impose a 48-hour suspension on flights from Britain following fears over the spread of a new strain of Covid-19, while ferries will be limited to freight travel.

The move was agreed by the three coalition party leaders who held discussions this afternoon, and an announcement was made by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan this evening.

The ban is in place for tomorrow and Tuesday and the measures will be reviewed by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Ferry crossings between Ireland and the UK will continue in order to keep essential supply chains moving.

Dublin port

A government statement said: "Ministers have engaged with the UK authorities and the Department of Transport has advised airlines of the ban.

"There will be close coordination with the Northern Ireland authorities as these arrangements are put in place."

Arrangements are being put in place to facilitate the repatriation of Irish residents on short trips to the UK and planning to return in the coming days, as well as international travellers to Ireland who are transiting through the UK.

An emergency meeting of the Stormont Executive to discuss implications of a new more aggressive variant of Covid-19 will take place at 9pm tonight.

Senior Executive sources told RTÉ News that First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill are engaged in discussions with the British government to get answers to "critical questions".

Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands have already announced bans on passenger flights from Britain.

Earlier, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said everything needed to be done in order to protect the health service.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Mr Donnelly said that Irish people who cannot come from the UK due to the new restrictions are in an awful situation.


Stephen Donnelly

Mr Donnelly said the vast majority of Irish people abroad had decided not to travel due to the virus, but a small number had planned to come home and he said his "heart went out to them".

He said the Government was taking the situation very seriously, as the new strain is up to 70% more transmissible.

Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan said: "Instead of a flight ban we need to fix what we haven't actually done in the pandemic which is monitoring people coming into the country and having proper contact tracing and testing as opposed to what it is.

"I think we need to have a system where people are going to restrict their movements and they are followed up.

"It is a huge concern about people coming home from Britain over Christmas and if they are carrying that strain.

"I find it more concerning that we've had nearly a year now and never actually cracked that nut of tracking the people coming in and leaving the country," said Ms Boylan.


The Labour Party has said it supports the decision to suspend travel from Britain, but that it will be devastating for many families.

It is calling on the Government to bring Tuesday's Cabinet meeting forward to give people clear guidance for the Christmas period.

The party's spokesperson on transport, Duncan Smith, said the latest developments show "the urgent need for mandatory Covid-19 testing at our airports and seaports for visitors arriving into Ireland over the coming days and weeks".

The World Health Organization has said its members in Europe should strengthen measures against the new strain.

Outside Britain, nine cases of the new strain have been reported in Denmark, as well as one case in the Netherlands and another in Australia, according to the WHO.

"Across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches," a spokeswoman for WHO Europe said.

Mod:

Going to leave this thread seperate for the time being as it is very relevant presently and might get lost in the main thread.

Please only discuss this restriction here. Discussion on general Covid restrictions (or relaxation of them) should be discussed in the relevant threads.

Same goes for the UK's response, there's a dedicated thread.

If this starts to become too much duplication it will be merged into the main Covid thread