British Airways resumes weekly flight
(CNS) The tourism ministry has confirmed that British Airways will resume its commercial regular weekly flight service between Grand Cayman and London Heathrow from Monday 27 September. The airline will operate a variable schedule three times per week based on a seasonal timetable and travel demand, flying via Nassau, Bahamas. As that country is on the UK amber list of countries, travellers need to review the guidelines for the latest rules for passengers arriving in England, where a verifiable vaccine is required.
Although the Cayman Islands returned to the Open Skies agreement last week, British Airways is currently the only airline other than Cayman Airways that will be offering a service here. Before COVID-19 burst Cayman’s community bubble, when government was planning to lift quarantine measures for fully vaccinated passengers, other carriers had been expected to begin flying in again next month.
However, government has paused the phased reopening and is not expected to lift quarantine measure now until the year end.
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said he was pleased BA was still resuming its scheduled commercial service as expected.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in organising and facilitating the repatriation flights, in particular the governor’s office, Travel Cayman and staff from the Ministry of Tourism and Transport, and British Airways. Their collective dedication and hard work allowed the essential air-bridge between our two countries to remain open while borders were closed,” he said.
While Cayman is on the UK’s green list, passengers who travel on the BA flight via Nassau will be classed as arriving from an amber country when they get to Heathrow, so unvaccinated travellers from the Cayman Islands will have to self-isolate for 10 days if travelling on a BA flight from 27 September onwards.
Vaccinated travellers will need to get a standard certificate from the Health Services Authority, in line with other British Overseas Territories, which can be used for entry through the UK border.
The letters of certification may be requested from the Office of the Medical Officer of Health by emailing vaccinecertification@hsa.ky and attaching a copy of your vaccination card, as a screen shot. Requests will take three business days to process.
All inbound travellers to the Cayman Islands are reminded to complete the online travel form via the Travel Cayman portal (here). A Travel Cayman certificate is required prior to travel and must be presented at airport check-in.
UK guidance on red, amber, green lists: check the rules for travel to England from abroad
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Category: Local News, Travel
When will we know which 3 days fly? Currently they are showing 4 flights a week and they are all close to sold out.
Well, I don’t understand how you announce that parade 3 restrictions will be extended until the end of the year and two days later commercial flights are announced for September.
What did I miss?
The problem is the Government explained it badly. It is not that reopening has been rolled back but that we are paused in phase 3 of the reopening.
Phase 3 – Vaccinated Tourists welcome, but quarantine required
Phase 4 – Vaccinated Tourists welcome, no quarantine
It is the Phase 4 that has been postponed to 2022.
So the airlines had to decide if they thought they could make money off of just vaccinated tourists (and residents, but really its the tourists that keep the flights regular). For the other companies I guess not. But I guess for BA as they were already flying here they just continue and by switching from an ‘air bridge’ flight to a commercial one they can add the Bahamas back on and it makes more economic sense.
No tourist is going to spend a week in lockdown. The island is closed to tourist until at least 2022. Meanwhile, locals fly around infected with COVID. It would be funny if it wasn’t true.
Many people who live here have family visit for a month or two at a time. These people are “tourists” and some will be willing to do the 7 day quarantine. Not a huge number but still tourists.
The one-two week visitors, yeah, they are not coming back for a while.
Actually, many hundreds are.
Actually, the tourists that spend the money will stay in quarantine as they own 2nd homes here…they’ll struggle in their multi-million condos and mansions for a week, then spend 3 more weeks here too….as to the locals flying around, it is odd how many people had emergency travel needs in recent months!
Overall, the fact we quarantine anyone is nuttier by the day considering the covid spreads from everyone. We would be far better bringing in rapid antigen tests for anyone that wants to take one, and testing people on arrival and also a few days after they’ve landed. We’ll end up there, but for now we have to follow da sci-unce over the cliff a few more times
Not even those who own places down there want to quarantine. Check out Trip Advisor. It has been discussed constantly.
Foolishness – you want a free-for-all – there are tourists that WILL quarantine and we have proof of that already
Just not the bread and basket ones that you like to see running around looking for bargains on an island where nothing such exists
Why don’t you just wait, eh?
The UK and US should close the border and then things would open real quick
That would not happen, too much economic and geopolitical damage.
That’s a real Numbnutts argument.
Reload and come again, Jim Screechy
Duh. Neither the UK or US could care less that a handful of tourists have been inconvenienced. They have slightly bigger issues.
Not sure why it is called an “Air Bridge”. This is the “Alcatraz Shuttle”.
What? Phase 3 allows flights without a repatriation essential reason as long as you quarantine for 7 days. They will all be full.
The ‘ Repatriation Essential’ requirement for the last 1-1/2 years has been a joke. I know of one family that has done 5 round-trip flights to Heathrow, with children, with the ‘Essential’ reason being school, work & family. With just a tad of ‘Leisure’. They quarantine , unflinchingly , like its just the new normal until recently, for the +15 days. It just demonstrates that some folks will go to any measure just to travel. I expect the new add on BA flights will be packed to full capacity now.
So don’t have to go through Travel Time first before booking BA flight?
Selective application of rules. BA apparently gets special privileges. 🤬
Yes like delivering Cayman free vaccines!
British Overseas Territory ring a bell?
Not a chance
That is a BA decision, NOT a CIG NOR AA, Delta or United decision
Pure commercial reasons – BA has punters that are willing to fly
What I don’t understand is you announce that phase 3 is on pause and then you bring in more British Airways flights, but no more flights from the US? So, does the UK not carry covid? WTH
So damn stupid to stall border opening.
Lucky the Bahamas is open or we would
not be getting this as there will be no tourists.
What about the US flights. Open the border. So ridiculous.
When will HSA be ready to implement the digital vaccine record? No phone call yet.
It’s been implemented. You need to go into the HSA or one of their booths on a Saturday to sign up
Or, if you’ve already had a COVID-19 test at the HSA at any time, all you have to do is download the app and enter the number on the email with your test results. It’s very easy to do.
Thanks!
That’s wonderful. What if you were tested on admission to hospital and never saw your result? When is the *mobile phone application* going to be usable just from your *mobile phone*? I am not going to stand in line at the HSA on Saturday when there is hardly anywhere to travel and the flights are full anyway. Do the vaccination cards have ID numbers by any chance? Never saw one on mine – that would have been some real forward thinking. Hence why they need us to go tell them we got vaccinated at their own clinic. What a joke.
Thanks!
If you are signed up for myHSA, the digital vaccine records are now there for some. Log into your account if you have one or go to the HSA to sign up for the MyHSA.
Thanks!
Can’t get on with life when one is dead
Now everyone will need the letter as the flights would no longer be non-stop from Cayman.
So are other airlines now allowed to come but just not because they think it might not be profitable?
BA will be OK. For most of the flight, they are transporting people from both Cayman and Bahamas. Since going from London to Bahamas anyway, not much to add an extra 1.5 hours to get to Cayman.
Also will be cargo from the UK on each flight that is a revenue generator.
BA will also be brining in quite a few new work permit holders (accountants, lawyers, etc) from Europe, South Africa and India.
It’s the airlines decision whether to fly to cayman or not !!!!
It would be useful to know which days of the week those flights will be so we don’t end up booking ghost flights. On the BA website there are 5 flights per week available, so which will be ‘real’?
There is not 5 flights a week on BA !!! They will also be showing codeshare flights with American Airlines ! Monday Thursday and Sunday it is from 27th
The BA website shows 4 flights a week from LHR to GCM during Oct and Nov e.g. Tue, Thur, Fri and Sat during w/c 8 Nov. Can anyone point me in the right direction to determine which 3 days BA will actually fly on?
It appears to be Monday, Tuesday and Saturday (not Sunday)
Three flights a week to the UK and just three flights a week to Miami on CAL. Makes a lot of sense CAL…
CAL don’t do sense nor do they need the money, they get a $25M+ subsidy every year. Whenever or if ever they manage to turn a material profit that’ll be justification to end or reduce the subsidy. Now why on earth would they want to do that?
What a joke! Idiot Cayman government practically shut the border till 2023! Open the border in October!
Hooray, just in time for our borders to remain closed!
There will be no amber list come then.
We would be so lucky. At present rates of spread we are likely to end up on a red list by Christmas.
Come on people. Lets just get on with life. Get vaccinated or build up your system/immunity, and keep PPE/Social distancing protocols etc.. Better yet, DO ALL THESE THINGS! We are not going to hide form this.
The world is moving on. PACT have already cancelled Cayman Christmas in any event.
Here comes more virus
Oh, they’re adding more flights from Jamaica?
Flights to and from Jamaica should be restricted or postponed until Phase 4.
Its already gone – abolished today.