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Passenger flights from the UK to Lithuania were banned at an unscheduled urgent government meeting on Sunday night. from 4 a.m. on December 21 to 24 a.m. on December 31, 2020. Only passenger flights will be suspended, cargo will still be able to enter Lithuania. Flights from Lithuania to the UK are also not suspended.
The decision is based on a new strain of coronavirus spreading rapidly in the UK.
According to M.Skuodis, such a decision will affect about 7 thousand. travelers who were going to fly to Lithuania these weeks.
He stressed that flights from Lithuania to the UK were not suspended and that the Government had no intention of doing so in the near future. However, flights can be canceled by the airlines themselves, as it will not make sense for them to carry passengers one way. “Unfortunately, it must be recognized that some flights will be affected in the near future,” warned the Minister of Transport.
The Vilnius airport website already shows that canceled flights not only from, but also to the UK: London, Doncaster, Leeds
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If people from the UK still want to enter Lithuania, there will be many challenges – it would be difficult to fly and relocate to another country as many European countries have also started restricting connections to the UK. Latvia, Estonia, Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Ireland and others have already done so. According to M. Skuodas, Poland should ban flights on Monday.
“If someone is planning to travel, we really do not advise it, not even transit flights, if they are still there, because they can stop at any time,” warned the transport minister.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Marius Skuodis
He asked his airlines to request a refund for the canceled flights. “They are informed, they have experience of previous situations during the quarantine period. It is not new for them, they have to take care of their customers. If they fail, the Lithuanian institutions are responsible, which would help solve the problems, ”said the minister on the LRT program.
Lithuania does not have direct ferry connections to the UK, so the government’s decision will not affect the routes. Still, the minister warned that ferries from the UK to other countries are being stopped. It has already been reported that travel from seaports via the Eurotunnel is being suspended.
“There will definitely be challenges for UK travelers who need or really want to travel,” warned M. Skuodis.
Whether the flight ban could be extended after the New Year, M. Skuodis has yet to begin to respond. The European Union is expected to take a joint decision on this issue earlier this week. “We are very hopeful that there will be a common position with joint action, and then we will adapt our decisions to the common approach of the EU,” said the minister.
VIDEO: An urgent government meeting: a decision to ban flights from the UK
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