Travel Advice for People Abroad

If you have relatives who are abroad and are trying to get home we know that this is an additional worry at this time. The Foreign Secretary and staff in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have been working closely with local authorities, commercial airlines and other diplomatic missions across the world to enable British nationals to get home. In the different countries the consular team is working around the clock to provide support, advice and information. It is a complex operation and all other countries are trying to do the same for their people too.

On 30th March the Foreign Secretary announced additional action where commercial flights are no longer running. 

The government has pledged up to £75 million to pay airlines for the additional charter flights to ensure tickets are affordable. Once special flights have been arranged, these will be promoted through the government’s travel advice and by the British embassy or high commission in country. British travellers who want a seat on the flight will book and pay directly through a dedicated travel management company.

British tourists stranded abroad who want to return to the UK should first check if there are commercial routes available by visiting the airline websites, FCO travel advice pages for the country they are in and local British embassy social media.

If there are no commercial options, they should visit the travel advice pages and sign up to alerts for their location and follow embassy social media and email updates. When special return flights become available, these will be advertised by the embassy and British nationals on Travel Advice Pages and Embassy social media and those who have registered for updates will be contacted via email. British nationals will be asked to register their interest through our booking agents CTM.

Where people are in real need, our consular teams will work with them to consider their options. As a last resort, the Foreign Office will offer an emergency loan.

The full Foreign Office Press Release can be read here