Economy tickets on most flights out of the UK direct to destinations in India were sold out following a rush to beat the ban imposed by New Delhi on travellers from the UK taking effect from 12 noon GMT (5.30 pm India time) on Wednesday.
No economy tickets were available on airlines’ online sites to Delhi or Mumbai, while major travel agencies dealing mainly with tickets to India stopped taking calls. The Boris Johnson government also highlighted the ban and advised Britons against all but essential travel to the country.
Only some premium or upper class tickets were available, costing thousands of pounds. The ban announced in New Delhi on Monday affects all travellers, including British citizens, Overseas Citizens of India and Indian citizens travelling to India from airports in the UK.
Revising its travel advisory for India, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: “The Government of India has announced that passengers from the UK (and the EU and Turkey) will be prohibited from entering India”.
“Airlines will not permit passengers from those countries to board planes from 1200 GMT on 18 March 2020. The restrictions are due to be in place till at least 31 March 2020. This does not affect British Nationals already in India who should follow the advice of local authorities”, it added.
{{/usCountry}}“Airlines will not permit passengers from those countries to board planes from 1200 GMT on 18 March 2020. The restrictions are due to be in place till at least 31 March 2020. This does not affect British Nationals already in India who should follow the advice of local authorities”, it added.
{{/usCountry}}UK inward and outward travel has already fallen by a significant amount since the outbreak of coronavirus. Ryanair, Virgin and EasyJet have cut flights by 80% this month and IAG has decreased capacity by 75%.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said in the House of Commons: “UK travellers abroad now face widespread international border restrictions and lock downs in various countries. The speed and range of those measures across other countries is unprecedented”.
“So I have taken the decision to advise British nationals against all non-essential international travel.”
The official advisory, which is central to business and insurance arrangements, noted the steps taken by India to deal with the coronavirus challenge.
It said: “There is an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China, but cases have been confirmed in other countries, including in India. India has announced additional measures to limit the spread of coronavirus”.
“You should comply with any additional screening measures put in place by the authorities, which can vary state by state from outright bans to quarantines to restrictions on large gatherings”.