Foreign Office Coronavirus travel advice: government advise against all non-essential travel

17 March 2020, 13:46 | Updated: 7 April 2020, 10:59

The Foreign Office today advised against all global travel as concern about Coronavirus escalates.

As of April 6th, 2010, The Foreign Office has changed the travel restrictions and are now advising against all non-essential travel "indefinitely".

A previous ban was set on March 17th, 2020 for an initial period of only 30 days, however, that advice has now been extended with no end date.

The FCO has stated on Twitter “Travel update: The Foreign Office indefinitely advises against all non-essential global travel.”

A video attached to the tweet read: “The situation is changing rapidly. Travellers could face severe disruption and be unable to return to the UK.“

The government has advised that all worldwide travel should stop for 30 days in a bid to help slow the spread of Coronavirus.

The Foreign Office said in a statement: "Today the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all non-essential international travel, initially for a period of 30 days. This advice takes effect immediately."

"This change in travel advice reflects the pace at which other countries are either closing their borders or implementing restrictive measures in response to the global coronavirus pandemic."

"Often there is little or no notice when countries take these steps and restrictions are also being imposed in areas where no cases of coronavirus have yet been reported. They are therefore very difficult to predict."

"British people who decide that they still need to travel abroad should be fully aware of the increased risks of doing so. That includes the risk that they may not be able to get home, if travel restrictions are put in place. Anyone still considering travel to be realistic about the level of disruption they are willing and able to endure, and to make decisions in light of the unprecedented conditions we face."

You can read the full statement on the Foreign Office website.

This move comes after many major airlines announced major scale backs of their services as a result of the pandemic.

EasyJet said in a statement: “Due to the unprecedented level of travel restrictions being imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and significantly reduced levels of customer demand, easyJet has undertaken further significant cancellations.

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“These actions will continue on a rolling basis for the foreseeable future and could result in the grounding of the majority of the easyJet fleet.

“EasyJet will continue to operate rescue flights for short periods where we can, in order to repatriate customers.”

British Airways have also announced plans to scale back flights.

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