Are you affected by the Swiss-UK/South Africa flight and entry ban?

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I am a climate and science/technology reporter. I am interested in the effects of climate change on everyday life and scientific solutions. Born in London, I am a dual citizen of Switzerland and the UK. After studying modern languages and translation, I trained as a journalist and joined swissinfo.ch in 2006. My working languages are English, German, French and Spanish.

Are you stranded somewhere because of the Swiss government’s latest Covid measures preventing people from travelling to Switzerland from the UK and South Africa? Are you quarantined or blocked?

Tell us about your experience, where you are and what problems you’re facing. Login or register here.

On December 21 the Swiss government ordered people who had entered the country from the UK and South Africa since December 14 to go into a ten-day quarantine and imposed a general entry ban for foreign nationals seeking to travel from the two countries. This was to prevent the further spread of a new coronavirus strain.

If you’re stranded, register on the federal government’s Travel App to keep up with the latest information and advice.

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From the article Travel support app launched for Swiss travelling abroad

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

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LynxVegas 2021-01-06 11:36

Quite often I read "oh, woe is me" comments from "me-first" people losing money on flights, not being able to have holidays, etc. We are in a pandemic. Why is it so difficult to stay, home, wear a mask, have as little contact with others as possible? Why is the British/SA variant here? Because of people travelling and breaking the rules. I've not seen my UK family / friends for over a year, but we meet online. I've saved loads of money by not going out. Until there is an effective vaccine, people should stay home. Easy.

PASSERBY2 2021-01-02 11:27

Not refunding air tickets looks like a good topic for our Swissinfo journalists. It seems that Swiss airlines given itself a nice informal loan from Swiss travelers collectively.

LoL 2020-12-26 13:11

PASSERBY2 2020-12-25 19:22

If I bought a Swiss ticket through a travel agent, and my flight is cancelled, can I claim refund from Swiss Airlines?
The ruling in the EU is that airlines have to refund tickets directly, also tickets bought through travel agencies. How it is in Switzerland?

Honor Coli 2020-12-28 13:36

@PASSERBY2

My family is still waiting for Swiss to refund our tickets from last Easter or spring. Still no luck so far other than being told that the refund was registered somewhere and it will eventually be processed.

We still have to fly for work, but we stopped using Swiss. All our cancelled flights with Lufthansa and Austrian have been refunded in 1-2 weeks after the flights. It is a sad situation as a Swiss person to have to say that there is no reason to fly with Swiss.

LynxVegas 2021-01-15 13:21

@PASSERBY2

Swiss is a German company, so you should get your money back.

PASSERBY2 2020-12-25 19:19

I wanted to go to visit my family, but travel was banned. Then I booked a second flight, and travel was banned. So my Christmas was destroyed - two times!
.
And the decision is almost certainly pointless, because the virus mutation is almost certainly already present in Switzerland. These quarantines from the 20. century do not fit in the 21. century. 1000s of people cross the world in few hours, so people move faster than the virus can be detected.

FThrottle 2020-12-25 12:45

Passengers being misinformed about the travel ban by Swiss Airlines. Though the temporary derogation from the flight ban applies only to repatriate nationals between Switzerland,SA & UK during Xmas period, Swiss Airline passengers being advised that flights are resuming as normal from 24th December, though they cannot guarantee return flights after Xmas period. After receiving either no response to ten-plus enquiries as to status of our flight cancellation on 24th December, returning to Switzerland 10 Jan, we were told to claim a refund, then, on the day we were due to travel, this advise was reversed and the Airline forced us to re-book our flight at last minute, or risk losing the ticket. We were not informed of our options, but coerced by a time-bound ultimatum. Swiss Airlines clearly don’t want to cancel flights & give refunds, when in circumstances beyond everyone’s control, they should rightfully do so. This is disingenuous and severely prejudicial, causing risk to passengers, financial loss and removing passengers’ choice of airline and routing. Other Swiss Airline passengers experiencing the same extreme frustration & misinformation. Actually, Swiss Airlines are booking flights to SA, UK, with the travel ban still in place!

michael riyeca 2020-12-25 12:32

We were supposed to travel to the UK to visit some relatives for Xmas as they cannot do a large wedding because of the restrictions. Sadly this whole ban screwed up the entire flight plans. Also, since Switzerland has more cases compared to most countries we have big doubts about the situation here. And, we still haven't got back our money from the Swiss flights this spring when we could not travel because of the lockdown.

I have a british and australian passport while my wife has a german and austrian passport. Our 4 kids all have german and british passports even though all 4 were born in Switzerland. We've been here for 12 years now and wanted to get the Swiss passport this year.

As a result of the virus and the constant discrimination towards foreigners we decided to sell our house, close our medical office and move. All the restrictions make life too difficult and we're starting to lose money just by staying in Switzerland.

We have some friends in Sweden and their community outside Stockholm have been trying for years to get medical professionals to settle there and they are even willing to offer a large tax credit for the first 5 years. This will be our last Christmas in Switzerland after 12 years here.

tomaseyu 2020-12-24 18:15

I hope this helps someone!

I booked my flight for this Saturday, so when the news about the ban of South African flights I freaked out. However, my flight is continuing despite this. If you look at https://www.flyedelweiss.com/EN/alerts/Pages/corona-cancelled-flights.aspx you can find which days are cancelled for Edelweiss. To be accepted on the flight you have to be either citizens of CH and LI, a holder of Residence Permit of CH/LI, holder of D-Visa of CH/LI, or a holder of Laisser Permit issued by CH Officials.

GRSA 2020-12-23 10:55

I’m currently in South Africa. Meant to fly back on the 1st of January.

Swiss hasn’t canceled the flight, the Swiss representatives don’t have any further information of assistance.

So I’m currently unsure of what is happening and if Swiss will still fly in a weeks time.

Coco 2020-12-22 18:47

I hope some flights are put back on very soon! I have had 2 cancelled flights already trying to get back and more quarantine upon arrival... can't we do some rapid tests so we cane be released from the 10 days of quarantine like I had to do upon arrival in the UK its not good for our mental health :( :(

Veronica DeVore SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2020-12-23 09:10

@Coco

Thanks for sharing - were you able to get a flight in the end?

Ritch 2020-12-23 11:54

@Veronica DeVore

Exactly coco. Let us pay for tests. If we pass we can head straight for the airport. Locking healthy people away makes no sense. Other countries have quarantine but you know this before you arrive and can make arrangements. My 16 year old son and me are now stuck in a small hotel room with nothing to do.

Anonymous 2020-12-22 17:31

Why even bother with quarantines...WHO??? is there to enforce them?

Xavier Onassis 2020-12-23 11:06

@Anonymous

Enforcement is sadly a problem because some people are selfish, idiots or genuinely suffer mental health problems. If everyone took responsibility for themselves and we did what was asked of us we all would be in a much healthier situation. Most of us are so fortunate we have homes, heating, hot water, wifi, more entertainment at our fingertips then we could watch in a life time and yet people still feel they can't stay indoors when required. I am in quarantine in the UK and will be VERY HAPPY to quarantine when home in Switzerland a. so I can be in my own home and b. to keep everyone around me safe. Not meaning to sound preachy but rather to quote a Sunday Times Editor 'it's time we stopped acting liked spoilt babies'!

Honor Coli 2020-12-28 13:38

@Anonymous

Most quarantines are absolutely dishonest. Inform people that if they land in your country they will have to pay to sit a week in a hotel room. Otherwise you are just trying to hold them hostage, so it is understandable that they want to leave and be free people.

LoL 2021-01-03 12:08

@Xavier Onassis

Well some people did not receive any help from government to Netflix and chill so they were desperatelt trying to find some other way to work. My family also did not receive anythinf from government, only taking my husband to serve army with pitiful salary and not counting all days he served. Being russian and living here with a Swiss man, I can tell that no Russia no Switzerland helped us, so for me it is a disgrace for Switzerland to care so little. I believe there are many self implied regestered people like us who did not get any help just as if we don't exist.