VSbulletin: COVID-19 Pakistan Added to Red List for UK Entry - Update 6 April 18:00

• 07 April 2021
• News
• Virgin Atlantic

The UK Government confirmed that Pakistan will be added to its  red list of countries from 0400 BST on Friday 9 April 2021. 

This means that if travellers who have been in or through Pakistan in the previous 10 days, will be refused entry to the UK. However, if they are a British or Irish National, or have residence rights in the UK, they will be able to enter the UK, but must quarantine in a government approved hotel for 10 days. 

As a result of Pakistan’s designation on the UK ‘red list’, we’ve made the decision to temporarily suspend our services between Manchester and Islamabad from 8 April. Islamabad-Heathrow and Lahore-Heathrow services will continue to operate to facilitate essential journeys for UK nationals and residents returning home, who must present their Passenger Locator Form and hotel quarantine booking before they board any flights arriving after 0400 on 9 April.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the Manchester-Islamabad flight cancellations and are in the process of contacting any customers affected. Customers will be automatically rebooked onto our London Heathrow services, but if they wish to rebook or hold their ticket open for a later travel date before 30 April 2023, we can help them with this, or arrange a refund.

Any customers booked to travel to or from Pakistan in the coming weeks should continue to check their flight status at www.virginatlantic.com before they travel to the airport. 

For flights from Friday 9 April to Friday 16 April, we will operate the following services:

We will continue to review our schedules, and these are subject to late changes.


We understand the difficulties that Covid-19 and this latest ‘red list’ restriction may pose to our customers. Where a Virgin Atlantic customer is unable to travel for any reason, we offer as much choice and flexibility as possible to help travellers change or amend their plans, with the option to make a date change or name(s) change with the service fee waived, for a new travel date all the way until 30 April 2023. Fare difference may apply.  View our latest policy here.
 
UK Entry Requirements

It is vital that all arriving customers comply with the UK’s testing and quarantine requirements and complete the online Passenger Locator Form ( HERE)  before travelling to Lahore or Islamabad airports. Please note, these UK Government public health measures will be enforced using financial penalties. More information about these requirements can be found in the UK Government guidance .   

The UK Government requires all international arrivals aged 11 years and over, including UK nationals, to provide a negative Covid-19 test result before departure for England, within 3 days before departure. For example, if you travel on Monday, your test should be taken no earlier than Friday. The UK Government have stated PCR, LAMP & ANTIGEN (lateral flow) tests will be accepted

From 9 April, in order to enter the UK from Pakistan, you must be a British or Irish National or have UK residence rights. All arrivals from  a 'red list’ country will need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel at a cost of £1,750 per person. Please remember travellers must book and pay for a Managed Hotel Quarantine Package, citing the invoice reference number in your Passenger Locator Form. The official booking portal is here:  https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/.

Booking here: https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/
Passenger Locator Form: HERE

We will be incorporating these requirements into our pre-departure communications to customers so they are aware of the mandatory requirements. Please ensure the latest traveller contact information is available within the booking so the latest instructions reach the traveller.

We encourage agents and travellers to regularly check here for more information. We will continue to keep our website up to date with all the latest updates to schedule and travel restrictions.

Please check here  regularly for updates and here for specific flight status. 

We continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation very carefully, including the latest guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), as well as any new entry or quarantine restrictions implemented by the countries we fly to. 

This remains a dynamic and fast-moving situation and we’re very grateful for all our customers’ patience.
 
Fly safe, fly well