Airline disruption continues as more countries impose UK travel bans

Airlines, travel companies and passengers faced a third day of disruption on Tuesday as a growing list of countries banned travel from the UK to prevent the spread of a virulent new strain of coronavirus. At Heathrow, departure boards showed a swath of cancellations for many European and long-haul destinations. At least 37 countries in the EU and beyond have banned travel from the UK, amid global alarm over the new variant. The airport grounded 80 flights on Monday, while another 30 were cancelled at Gatwick, although domestic flights and routes to countries that were still accepting passengers, including the US, were operating. Roughly 200 flights were cancelled across the UK. Numbers were not yet available for Tuesday. About half of the flights scheduled to depart Glasgow and Manchester airports before 1pm on Tuesday were, however, grounded. Thousands of passengers across the country have been left scrambling to alter their plans. Some have been turning up at airports not knowing whether they can fly, and there is “real confusion over what is happening”, said Ruby McGregor-Smith, chair of the Airport Operators Association. “Clearly, it is such a fast-moving situation . . . as the hours go on, with more and more bans coming, it is very difficult for airports and airlines to actually communicate effectively,” she said. On Monday, 2,274 flights took off or landed in the UK, just over a third of the total on the equivalent day last year, according to NATS, the UK’s air traffic control service, which collated movement of all passenger, freight and private aircraft.<br/>