VSbulletin: Important update regarding flights to South Africa
26 November 2021
News
Virgin Atlantic
It remains a dynamic time for international travel and we’re continually reviewing our flying schedules.
The UK Government has confirmed it will reinstate South Africa on its ‘Red List’ of countries from 12:00 GMT on Friday 26 November. From this point until 04:00 GMT on Sunday 28 November, a passenger flight ban from South Africa to the UK will also be enforced by the UK Government, which will unfortunately result in the cancellation of our Johannesburg to London Heathrow services during this window.
As a result of the Red list designation, from 04:00 on Sunday 28 November, entry to the UK is banned to all but UK and Irish nationals and customers with UK residence rights, who must undertake 10-day managed hotel quarantine upon arrival. We’re currently reviewing our schedule of South Africa operations for the coming week and recommend that any customers booked to travel to or from South Africa with us check their flight status on www.virginatlantic.com
Everything our you need to know to assist our customers with date changes and refunds can be found here
This week we will not be actioning any other flight cancellations, however there may be some times changes to flights that will need to be actioned in your GDS in the normal way and customers notified. Bookings affected by these changes will be updated in your GDS on Saturday 27 November 2021.
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
Everything you and your customers need to know before travelling to the USA can be found here
During December, we plan to maintain operations on the following routes, subject to late changes:
Our flying programme
USA
LHR-ATL-LHR
Daily
LHR-BOS-LHR
4 per week
LHR-JFK-LHR
3/4 per day
LHR-LAS-LHR
4 per week
LHR-LAX-LHR
12 per week
LHR-MIA-LHR
Daily
LHR-MCO-LHR
Daily
LHR-SFO-LHR
4 per week
MAN-JFK-MAN
Daily
MAN-MCO-MAN
Daily
MAN-ATL-MAN
3 per week
Caribbean
LHR-ANU-LHR
4 per week
LHR-BGI-LHR
12 per week
LHR-GND-LHR (via BGI)
2 per week
LHR-MBJ-LHR
3 per week
LHR-NAS-LHR (via MBJ)
2 per week
LHR-SVD-LHR (via BGI)
2 per week
MAN-BGI-MAN
4 per week
EDI-BGI-EDI
2 per week
LHR-UVF-LHR
2 per week from 18 Dec
South Africa
LHR-JNB-LHR
Daily (under review)
LHR-CPT-LHR
3 per week from 17 Dec (under review)
India
LHR-BOM-LHR
Daily
LHR-DEL-LHR
Daily
Pakistan
LHR-LHE-LHR
4 per week
LHR-ISB-LHR
3 per week
MAN-ISB-MAN
4 per week
Hong Kong
LHR-HKG-HKG
Daily
Nigeria
LHR-LOS-LHR
Daily
Israel
LHR-TLV-LHR
Daily
Our partners Delta are also back in the skies, and here's a reminder of where they are flying long-haul from the UK in December.
Our partner Delta Air Lines flying programme
LHR-ATL-LHR
Daily
LHR-JFK-LHR
10 per week
LHR-DTW-LHR
4 per week
LHR-BOS-LHR
3 per week
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.
Please ensure the latest traveller contact information is available within the booking, so the latest instructions reach the traveller via SMS and email.
Flexibility Policy Our flexible booking policy gives customers the freedom to book with confidence, knowing they can make changes if they need to. For flights booked on or after 3 March 2021, for departures up to 30 April 2022, they can change travel dates up to 30 April 2023.
Our partner Delta Air Lines is also offering expanded flexibility and extended ticket validity through December 31, 2022. Visit Delta’s Waivers & Flexibility pages on Delta Professional for more information.
Face Masks For most flights, we expect all customers aged 12 and above to wear a facemask. On a flight to or from the United States, customers aged 2 and over must wear a face mask, in order to comply with slightly different rules set by the US authorities.
We need to remind you that if any of our customers require a mask exemption or have any pre-existing medical conditions, these need to be disclosed to Virgin Atlantic at least 48 hours prior to travel. You can contact our Special assistance team here or by emailing special.assistance@fly.virgin.com. Please ensure the customer has their booking reference when they contact us.
