Consular flights to bring stranded Irish residents from Britain

At least two consular flights are scheduled to fly from the UK to Ireland on Tuesday night to leave Irish residents stranded by the ban on travel home, the Foreign and Transport ministers said.

The flights will be operated by Irish airlines and at least one will depart from London, Simon Coveney and Eamon Ryan confirmed Monday night.

The departure airport of the second flight will be decided based on the demand of those who contact the helpline of the Department of Foreign Relations, they said.

Both flights will also be accessible to passengers bound for Ireland traveling through British airports but have been stranded due to the ban, ministers said.

Arrangements will be made with ferry companies to gain “exceptional access” to ferry services for the “small number of Irish residents” who are stranded in Britain after taking short trips in their vehicles, they added.

In a statement, ministers said the two flights on Tuesday would be “open only to Irish residents and transit passengers” and that there would be no access to people living in Britain who are “planning short trips to Ireland for Christmas.”

The travel restrictions, which were put in place in response to a new strain of Covid-19 circulating in Britain, have left some Irish nationals stranded abroad.

Aer Lingus said on Monday that it was still operating flights from Ireland to Britain “to facilitate the repatriation of customers to the UK and those with connecting flights to the UK.”

“Customers whose flights have been canceled are being contacted by Aer Lingus directly and are entitled to a refund, coupon or rerouting at a later date,” said an Aer Lingus spokeswoman.

Aer Lingus is understood to be able to operate the Government’s repatriation flights, although details have yet to be confirmed.

A Ryanair spokesperson said that all passengers affected by the UK travel bans would be notified by email and “would be offered practical alternatives including free removals, route changes or a refund.”

He said Ryanair would continue to operate flights that are allowed to fly to and from the UK, but that any passenger who does not wish to travel during the five days leading up to Christmas will be able to change their flight for any date until March 15 with no change of flight fare.