Airplanes, buses or trains from Great Britain and South Africa have not been allowed to enter Germany since midnight.
What happens to stranded vacationers?
Update from December 22, 2020
: Since midnight there has been an
entry stop for passenger aircraft from Great Britain or South Africa to Germany
.
With this, the government wants the uncontrolled spread of a
variant of the corona virus
avoid that is highly contagious.
The transport by train, rail, ship or plane by the respective companies should be refrained from according to a regulation published on Monday in the Federal Gazette.
People who have been entering Germany since December 22nd and have been in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Republic of South Africa in the ten days before must report to the responsible health department and present a negative corona test no later than 48 hours before entry was made.
These regulations are considered a "precautionary measure" as Health Minister Spahn explains on Twitter.
As a precautionary measure, air, sea and rail passengers from the United Kingdom and South Africa are not allowed to travel to Germany after midnight.
This will apply until we know more about the #coronavirus mutations reported in both countries.
- Jens Spahn (@jensspahn) December 21, 2020
The last aircraft from Great Britain landed in Germany on Sunday.
The passengers were only allowed to leave the airports with a negative test result.
As far as stranded Germans in Great Britain or South Africa are concerned, a spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office had bad news at the government press conference on Monday: "
For Germans there, unfortunately, this means that there will be significant restrictions
." that public transport runs in the UK and travelers can return to their starting point within the country.
Hotels do not have to close.
“We recommend those affected to stay on site if possible and observe the situation.” According to the spokeswoman, anyone who is currently stranded in South Africa could possibly use other return travel options.
The question of a return campaign by Germans from Great Britain or South Africa does not arise at the moment
: “The measures are short-term and train traffic from the UK, for example, is suspended for 24 or 48 hours.
Also in the case of South Africa, as I said, it is not the case that there are no longer any connections to Europe, ”said the spokeswoman.
According to the published rules, the entry stop by plane, train or bus is
planned until January 6th
.
Germany bans flights from the UK - What travelers need to know now
Original message from December 21, 2020
: In order to avoid the spread of a
highly contagious coronavirus variant
across Europe *, numerous countries are now banning air traffic from Great Britain.
The Netherlands and Belgium imposed a flight stop on Sunday afternoon (December 20).
The federal government now also wants to
almost completely stop air traffic between Germany and Great Britain from midnight
, as the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health explained.
First the "Bild" newspaper reported about it.
Flights from Germany to Great Britain should therefore still be possible.
+
Hannover Airport has shut down.
© imago images / Bernd Günther
European countries close borders with Great Britain - Germany wants uniform regulation
According to media reports, the federal police are supposed to be required to systematically check not only travelers from England, but also from South Africa - where its new virus mutation is also spreading.
Exceptions are cargo flights, flights with medical staff and jets on which only crews are on board
.
"From midnight onwards, every flight from Great Britain to Germany will be banned. Tomorrow we will restrict all entries from Great Britain and South Africa with a regulation," says @jensspahn at #berichtausBerlin. # Mutation
- BMG (@BMG_Bund) December 20, 2020
So that the mutated variant of the coronavirus does not get into the country by other means, the federal government is striving for
a solution for all of Europe
.
The German EU Council Presidency called an emergency meeting with representatives and experts from other member states for Monday.
Since then, many other European countries have reacted to the highly contagious virus from Great Britain: There
is a flight ban
in
France
, and the Eurotunnel has been closed since 11 p.m. on Sunday, as the operator announced on Twitter.
The ferry terminal in Dover, England, is now also closed.
FERRY TERMINAL AT THE PORT OF DOVER IS CLOSED TO ALL ACCOMPANIED TRAFFIC LEAVING THE UK UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO BORDER RESTRICTIONS IN FRANCE.
Further info - https://t.co/7qPmvbiRVs
- Port of Dover Travel (@PoD_travelnews) December 20, 2020
Also interesting
: Canary Islands again risk area: travel warning from the Foreign Office.
There are also plans to stop air traffic in Italy and Austria.
According to the
Mallorca newspaper
,
flights to Spain
have so far been very different: the government is reacting to the virus mutation with tightened controls.
Passengers arriving on an airplane from the UK will be checked particularly carefully for their negative PCR test.
The Spanish government is hoping for a “coordinated response to this new situation” at the meeting of the EU's expert commission on Monday, according to the newspaper.
How long is the flight ban from Great Britain to Germany in effect?
The regulation is
initially to
apply
until December 31
.
The "Bild" newspaper reported, however, that the flight would be stopped until January 6th.
For the time being, however, many countries have committed to restrictions until the end of the month.
(fk) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
Also read
:
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want to travel despite Corona?
So many Germans are really planning a vacation next year.
You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance
You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance
List of rubric lists: © imago images / Bernd Günther
