VSbulletin COVID-19 Ongoing Travel Disruption - 9 December 2021

• 09 December 2021
• News
• Virgin Atlantic

It remains a dynamic time for international travel and we’re continually reviewing our flying schedules.

Virgin Atlantic continues to operate a reduced service frequency between London Heathrow and Johannesburg of 3 per week, with all arriving customers from South Africa entering managed hotel quarantine in the UK for 10 days. As a result of reduced demand for travel to Israel following the entry ban for foreign nationals, we’ve also updated our London Heathrow – Tel Aviv schedule, which will continue on a temporarily reduced frequency of 4 per week. Customers booked to travel can check their flight status on www.virginatlantic.com, and wherever possible, for those with cancelled flights we will rebook them onto an alternative service.

We may need to change the timings on some of our flights between London Heathrow and Johannesburg. Bookings affected by these changes will be updated in your GDS. We realise this retiming may have a knock-on effect to customers managed hotel quarantine booking and apologise for this. We recommend they contact CTM, the agent which administrates hotel quarantine, with any questions. CTM Managed Quarantine Phone: +44 (0) 207 429 9732 (lines are open between 09:00 and 17:00 UK time every day) or email: quarantine.hotels@travelctm.com

LA Terminal Change
From 10 December, our customers at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) will enjoy a streamlined customer experience, as we temporarily move our full operation, including check in, into the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), from our usual home in Terminal 2. To support a better customer experience during ongoing construction work, we will relocate to the world-class TBIT (also known as Terminal B), which boasts excellent facilities and amenities, many of which can be found in the central "Great Hall" in Departures and in the West Gates, a beautifully designed interior featuring extensive use of natural light.

As part of the terminal change, eligible customers will have access to the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX, in partnership with codeshare partner, Air New Zealand, which operates the lounge. From 10 December the lounge will be available to Upper Class passengers, with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold members welcomed from 17 December. The Star Alliance Lounge offers impressive facilities and services, including spacious areas to work, dine or relax, shower suites, plus a serviced bar with complimentary cocktails and refreshments. An outdoor terrace also offers views over the airfield and distant Hollywood hills.

Everything you and your customers need to know before travelling to the USA can be found here .
 

Before customers travel, please ensure they are checking the countries entry requirements for their destination. Everything they need to know before they head to the airport can be found here, but it’s also important to check the latest government travel advice and entry requirements here .

As a result of the fast-moving travel environment, we continue to make schedule changes, which will affect our Flying Programme

• We are reducing frequencies on several routes, however to ensure impacted passengers can continue with their travel plans, they will be reprotected to the most suitable alternative departure.
• Where a flight is cancelled, due limited operations to these destinations, there will be no reprotection option available, these sectors will appear as UN.

Bookings affected by these changes will be updated in your GDS on Saturday 11 December 2021.