Coronavirus: Raab announces £75m plan to bring British travellers home

Government signs memorandum of understanding with commercial airlines

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has announced a £75m plan to repatriate as many as 60,000 British travellers stranded overseas.

After negotiations with airlines, Mr Raab announced a partnership agreement under which Virgin, EasyJet, Jet2 and Titan have signed a memorandum of understanding to help bring back UK nationals, while British Airways says it will work with the government “in the national interest” to get people home.

Where commercial flights are not an option, the government will charter special flights to get Britons back, subsidising ticket prices.

Mr Raab, who announced the plan at a Downing Street press conference, said: “This is a worrying time for many British citizens travelling abroad. We’ve already worked with airlines and governments to enable hundreds of thousands to return home on commercial flights, and we will keep as many of those options open as possible.

“Where commercial flights are not possible, we will build on the earlier charter flights we organised back from China, Japan, Cuba, Ghana and Peru. The arrangements agreed today will provide a clearer basis to organise special charter flights where Britons find themselves stranded. Our priority will always be the most vulnerable.”

Gap-year couple Harry Guy-Walters and Molly Holmes, both 23, who are stranded in Bolivia, welcomed the announcement.

“It was encouraging to hear,” Mr Guy-Walters told The Independent. “We’ve been told there should be a flight from Bolivia at some point this week but this now gives us more confidence that will actually happen and we really will get home.

“The main question, though, is why has it's taken this long? The government’s entire response to this crisis has been slow – like, even the lockdown didn’t come soon enough.”

Mr Raab said he had spoken to more than 20 foreign ministers in recent days to urge countries around the world to keep airports and airspace open to ensure travellers are able to return to the UK.

Hundreds of thousands of British tourists have already been helped to return from all over the globe, including 8,500 from Morocco, around 5,000 from Cyprus, and an estimated 150,000 from Spain, he said.

Charter flights are already up and running to Ghana and Tunisia, and more countries are due to be added this week to bring people back from countries such as India and South Africa where large numbers of British travellers are stuck and commercial routes are suspended. The Foreign Office said it was negotiating “intensely” with countries around the world to secure permissions for return flights where airspace has been closed.

In a joint letter to the airlines, Mr Raab and Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said they recognised the companies were facing financial and operational challenges as a result of the pandemic.

But they said the airlines too must recognise their responsibility for transporting passengers with pre-booked tickets for flights which have been cancelled, by offering them alternative routes and allowing them to change tickets, including between carriers.

“The government will continue to work non-stop around the world to keep routes open,” said the ministers.

“At the same time, we recognise that thousands of travellers have been affected by flight cancellations and need to find alternative routes or change their tickets.

“It is essential that airlines meet this need and offer their passengers the service they deserve.”

Harry Guy-Walters and Molly Holmes (Provided)

A Foreign Office source said there was no linkage between participation in the scheme and the separate negotiations over state bailouts for airlines threatened with financial collapse because of the sudden halt to air travel.

Charter flights will be operated on a no-profit basis, and taxpayer funding should mean passengers pay no more than £250-£500 for their tickets. Anyone unable to pay will be offered an emergency loan from the Foreign Office if they can find no alternative source of funds.

The number of charter flights will depend on demand and on the ability to negotiate access with local governments, although the budget suggests that as many as 300 are envisaged. The Foreign Office stressed that these are intended only as a last resort, and travellers should take commercial flights wherever possible.

Charter flights are not intended for passengers showing symptoms of coronavirus. Those unable to travel will be advised to self-isolate and seek medical treatment from local authorities where necessary.

Priority will be given to countries with large numbers of British travellers, and flights are not intended to repatriate UK nationals living permanently overseas. The Foreign Office said it will focus on travellers who are vulnerable due to age or underlying medical conditions, taking the state of local healthcare facilities into account.

“The coronavirus crisis is a challenge unlike any we have faced in generations,” said the letter. “By working together, we send a strong message of reassurance to Britons stranded overseas.

“We will do our best to bring people home and help reunite families and loved ones.”

Acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: ”The Foreign Office must ensure that British citizens will be able to return home, wherever they have been stranded, without exception. We welcome the steps the government is taking to charter flights in order to get people home, and to work to ensure commercial flights remain available where possible.

“However, questions remain about why this announcement has taken so long. Thousands have been seeking urgent assistance for weeks as borders have closed. The delay has caused huge amounts of worry both for those stuck overseas and their families and friends in the UK.”

Additional reporting by Colin Drury