wife stranded in Thailand ?

[RecklessRabbit]

Hi guys.

my wife went to Thailand for a 10 week visit to family and friends. she has a UK residence card.

her return ticket with emirates is 11th may. a long way off yet i know.

i've seen the UK advisories  for people to return to UK and emirates seem to be suspending flights from tomorrow until the end of june?

but getting a earlier flight is impossible not only due to them being full of people wanting to rush back. but also my wife has just had a hip operation and is not fit to fly for another 3 weeks anyway.

what are people planning on doing if they get trapped in Thailand with flights cancelled and they run out of holiday funds due to a forced extension.  i'm self employed so this UK shut down has impacted on my abilty to fund her trip lol.. 

anyone got any ideas ????

Edited March 24, 2020 by RecklessRabbit

[CharlieH]

I saw a minister in uk state that he  recommends people try to get out through Singapore as its the regional hub.

So if a flight isnt available directly out of Thailand it may be worth try going via Singapore.

 

Just a suggestion.

[GinBoy2]

I'm gonna just copy & paste what I just said in another thread.

 

Just think carefully about whats the best course of action for your loved ones....

 

I work for Delta, and both our Delta & United flights that we service have been cut to the bone, and even then some flights going out with a handful of passengers.

 

Honestly I'd welcome a total ground stop for a couple of weeks worldwide. 

 

It only takes one infected person of a flight to potentially infect the entire plane. Bathrooms, tray tables, flight magazines, they already know the virus can survive on any surface for hours.

 

A metal cylinder with recycled air is a petri dish for this stuff.

 

Do you want your loved ones in that situation? Better stay put, as hard as it may be to be apart for a few weeks.

 

And think of the airlines employees. We're now removing all magazines, just leaving sick bags and emergency card in seat backs, and we're the ones now having to wipe down every tray table as we turn flights.

 

Then there are the flight attendants who are there on every flight, and finally the airlines are allowing them to wear gloves and face masks, a little too late if you ask me.

[Mike Teavee]

20 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

I saw a minister in uk state that he  recommends people try to get out through Singapore as its the regional hub.

So if a flight isnt available directly out of Thailand it may be worth try going via Singapore.

 

Just a suggestion.

Shows how out of touch they are, SIngapore has barred entry for short term visitors & transit passengers.

 

Even people on long term employment passes need permission from MoM (Ministry of Manpower) to re-enter Singapore. 

 

 

https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/media-centre/news-alert/?id=is5rire4

 

Travel Restrictions

Travel restrictions are in place around the world to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Singapore
With effect from 2359 hours on 23 March 2020:

• All short-term visitors: No entry or transit through Singapore
• Work pass holders: Entry/return only permitted for those providing essential services (and their dependents)
• All Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders:
  • From Hubei Province: 14-day quarantine
  • From all other countries: 14-day Stay Home Notice (SHN)

For more information on Singapore's border control measures, please refer here.

Visitors affected by the above policy and need to visit Singapore due to extenuating reasons may appeal to Singapore’s Immigrations and Checkpoint Authority here: https://www.ica.gov.sg/covid-19

 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Mike Teavee

[Tropicalevo]

Not looking good.

Emirates are closed down and will they fly in 3 weeks? Maybe, but not likely.

Is it possible for her family here to look after her until flights open up gain and she can refund them later?

Problem is that no one has any idea when 'later' is.

Emirates are giving full refunds or vouchers for future travel. Difficult to contact them but friends of mine now have refunds for their cancelled flight back to the UK.

 

[GinBoy2]

1 minute ago, Mike Teavee said:

Shows how out of touch they are, SIngapore has barred entry for short term visitors & transit passengers.

 

Even people on long term employment passes need permission from MoM (Ministry of Manpower) to re-enter Singapore. 

 

 

 

 

I saw the Singapore ban on transit passengers, but honestly is hard to keep track of whats happening.

 

Flights are getting cancelled in hours and countries are changing entry restrictions on the fly.

 

I tell everyone. Don't fly anywhere, since you have no idea if you can get back things are so dynamic right now

[Mike Teavee]

4 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I saw the Singapore ban on transit passengers, but honestly is hard to keep track of whats happening.

 

Flights are getting cancelled in hours and countries are changing entry restrictions on the fly.

 

I tell everyone. Don't fly anywhere, since you have no idea if you can get back things are so dynamic right now

Agreed, but UK ministers should be keeping a close eye on things before making recommendations that could severly screw people up! 

 

As an aside, was on a flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok this morning & 2 English couples behind me were discussing how they were going to get back to Manchester (My home UK airport so my ears pricked up) as their flights had been cancelled, I wiped out my mobile & checked matrix.itasoftware.com and there were flights via China for < 19,000 THB (didn't check which airport) but the cheapest flight I could see that I would use was Qatar at 180,000 THB... One Way! 

 

Best advice is to stay put & ride it out if you can... 

 

[donnacha]

1 hour ago, RecklessRabbit said:

my wife has just had a hip operation and is not fit to fly for another 3 weeks anyway.

That has made the decision for you. Whatever last chance exits from Thailand might still be possible now, there will be nothing by mid-April. She will just have to sit out the next few months with her family. That should be cheap enough.

You could still join her if you can manage to quickly organize the necessary med cert and insurance. Finnair, Aeroflot, KLM, THAI, and Qatar all still appear to be flying Heathrow to BKK. You would need to go into isolation in a hotel for 14 days and, even after that, there is still a risk of infecting your wife's family. You should expect to be stuck in Thailand for at least 3 months, and will probably get hit with a 20K THB overstay fine when you leave.

Smarter for both of you to stay put.


 

Edited March 24, 2020 by donnacha

[GinBoy2]

And to prove my point about how fast things are changing, here we go...

 

https://simpleflying.com/emirates-and-etihad-ground-all-flights-immediately/

[CharlieH]

From that minister I referred to earlier....

 

"I spoke to the Singaporean Foreign Minister this morning and we have agreed to work together to help those stranded to get back to the UK"

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/coronavirus-covid-19-foreign-secretarys-statement-on-support-for-british-people-abroad

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

On 3/25/2020 at 12:12 AM, CharlieH said:

From that minister I referred to earlier....

 

"I spoke to the Singaporean Foreign Minister this morning and we have agreed to work together to help those stranded to get back to the UK"

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/coronavirus-covid-19-foreign-secretarys-statement-on-support-for-british-people-abroad

 

 

In typical UK Politician style, Raab was more than a little premature when he said things have been "Agreed" with SIngapore Government... 

 

British Airways flights to London that go via Singapore are currently only allowing Singaporean citizens on board - so planes are leaving Australia almost empty. The UK's High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadall says they are "close" to getting a solution and that UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been talking to his counterpart in Singapore.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-52044452

[Scroll 1/2 way down or search for "Flights for stranded Brits 'hugely expensive'"

 

Article also confirms flight prices are crazy... 

Today Qatar Airways has added extra flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth via Doha. There are complaints tickets are too expensive – more than A$12,000 (£6,000) one way. We've had a quick look and that seems to be the case for the next week or so.

 

But prices drop to about A$3,000 (£1,500) from 4 April. Some will have to sit it out a little longer but several travellers tell us they have run out of funds and can’t find work. Others fear their visas expiring and being "illegal".

 

 

[daveyboy69]

yes lot of us in same boat.where did you read that emirates stop flights till end of June thanks

[daveyboy69]

35 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

In typical UK Politician style, Raab was more than a little premature when he said things have been "Agreed" with SIngapore Government... 

 

British Airways flights to London that go via Singapore are currently only allowing Singaporean citizens on board - so planes are leaving Australia almost empty. The UK's High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadall says they are "close" to getting a solution and that UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been talking to his counterpart in Singapore.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-52044452

[Scroll 1/2 way down or search for "Flights for stranded Brits 'hugely expensive'"

 

Article also confirms flight prices are crazy... 

Today Qatar Airways has added extra flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth via Doha. There are complaints tickets are too expensive – more than A$12,000 (£6,000) one way. We've had a quick look and that seems to be the case for the next week or so.

 

But prices drop to about A$3,000 (£1,500) from 4 April. Some will have to sit it out a little longer but several travellers tell us they have run out of funds and can’t find work. Others fear their visas expiring and being "illegal".

 

 

the 6k tickets are in 1st class or business.because com sold out.

[Mike Teavee]

3 hours ago, daveyboy69 said:

the 6k tickets are in 1st class or business.because com sold out.

When I checked BKK-MAN with Qatar in Economy was 180K (One way) which is > £4,500 but have just checked and you can now get them for 78K (>£2,000).

 

SIA + BA is showing availability at 38K, (currently) cannot transit in SIN

Cathay + Aer Lingus is showing at 40K, cannot transit in HKG

China+KLM is showing at 50K, not sure about whether you can transit in TPE
 

[Mike Teavee]

3 hours ago, daveyboy69 said:

yes lot of us in same boat.where did you read that emirates stop flights till end of June thanks

UAE has suspended all flights (Emirates & Etihad) for 2 weeks.

 

Emirates has suspended approx 70% of flights for longer than the 2 weeks 

 

https://www.timeoutdubai.com/travel/437235-dubais-emirates-airlines-temporarily-suspends-flights-to-more-than-100-destinations

 

Not sure where you're flying to/from but here are the European ones (Other countries can be found in the link)

 

Europe

• Athens: From 23 March to 30 June
• Barcelona: From 20 March to 20 May
• Bologna: From 13 March to 20 May
• Brussels: From 26 March to 30 June
• Budapest: From 13 March to 20 May
• Düsseldorf: From 23 March to until further notice
• Edinburgh: From 25 March to 30 June
• Frankfurt: From 23 March to until further notice
• Geneva: From 23 March to 30 June
• Hamburg: From 23 March to until further notice
• Istanbul (IST): From 17 March to 20 May
• Istanbul (SAW): From 17 March to 20 May
• Larnaca: From 17 March to 20 May
• Lisbon: From 19 March to 30 April
• London Stansted: From 25 March to 30 June
• Lyon: From 23 March to until further notice
• Madrid: From 18 March to 20 May
• Malta (via Larnaca): From 17 March to 20 May
• Milan: From 13 March to 20 May
• Moscow: From 30 March to 30 June
• Munich: From 23 March to until further notice
• Newcastle: From 25 March to 30 June
• Nice: From 23 March until further notice
• Oslo: From 28 March to 30 June
• Paris: From 23 March until further notice
• Porto: From 17 March to 20 May
• Prague: From 25 March – 30 June
• Rome: From 14 March to 20 May
• Saint Petersburg: From 30 March to 30 June
• Stockholm: From 26 March to 30 June
• Venice: From 12 March to 20 May
• Vienna: From 23 March to 30 June
• Warsaw: From 15 March to 20 May

 

 

 

[puchooay]

On 3/24/2020 at 4:49 PM, Tropicalevo said:

Not looking good.

Emirates are closed down and will they fly in 3 weeks? Maybe, but not likely.

Is it possible for her family here to look after her until flights open up gain and she can refund them later?

Problem is that no one has any idea when 'later' is.

Emirates are giving full refunds or vouchers for future travel. Difficult to contact them but friends of mine now have refunds for their cancelled flight back to the UK.

 

I have a flight from Gatwick to Bangkok on 4th May (returning on 16th May), via Dubai, with Emirates.

 

I have received an email and SMS to say that my flight has been cancelled.

 

Strangely, when I check my flight on my account on Emirates website it only shows Gatwick-Dubai and Dubai-Gatwick as being cancelled. Nothing about the Dubai/Bangkok/Dubai legs.

[chickenslegs]

On 3/24/2020 at 11:09 PM, RecklessRabbit said:

i'm self employed so this UK shut down has impacted on my abilty to fund her trip lol.. 

I hope the government comes up with some help for the self employed, as they have for other workers.

 

Regarding your wife's welfare - thousands of Thais have headed home to be with their families, where they can live a lot more cheaply than in the cities. There always seems to be enough food, and never any shortage of sanuk.

 

Best of luck!

[tso310]

1 minute ago, puchooay said:

I have a flight from Gatwick to Bangkok on 4th May (returning on 16th May), via Dubai, with Emirates.

 

I have received an email and SMS to say that my flight has been cancelled.

 

Strangely, when I check my flight on my account on Emirates website it only shows Gatwick-Dubai and Dubai-Gatwick as being cancelled. Nothing about the Dubai/Bangkok/Dubai legs.

This is a problem many people are stating on UK news. They can get part of the way back. Qatar seem to be operating but supply and demand does affect the ticket price and its LHR only as LGW has been suspended. Emirates suspended all passenger flights from 25 March. Currently EVA are still flying, empty between BKK - TPE. These many change at a moments notice.  

Just tried the Qatar airways reservation system and you can book for your dates for around £600 return using the cheapest ticket options. Again the position may change and don't forget the health certificate requirements for boarding the aircraft. I have no doubt they will still be active in May. Check with the Thai embassy website.

[drbeach]

16 minutes ago, puchooay said:

I have a flight from Gatwick to Bangkok on 4th May (returning on 16th May), via Dubai, with Emirates.

 

I have received an email and SMS to say that my flight has been cancelled.

 

Strangely, when I check my flight on my account on Emirates website it only shows Gatwick-Dubai and Dubai-Gatwick as being cancelled. Nothing about the Dubai/Bangkok/Dubai legs.

That's because there was a statement by Emirates that clarified that they will only be suspending all flights to some destinations. Thai flights remain on the schedule, though that could change at anytime of course.

[tso310]

From the Emirates website -

UAE government suspends all passenger flights

News flash

Last updated: 26 March 2020, 09:51 Dubai (GMT+4)

As per the UAE government’s directive, Emirates will temporarily suspend all passenger services from 25 March 2020. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers and travellers. These measures are in place to contain the spread of COVID-19, and we hope to resume services as soon as feasible.

Please complete the Travel Voucher request form to re-book your flight later. We can usually answer your call quicker if you can speak to us in English.

Customers with tickets issued on/before 31^st March who are impacted due to:

• Travel ban: Where there is government notification that prohibits travel
• Travel advisory: General government advisory against non-essential travel             
• Quarantine requirements: Mandatory quarantine at origin or destination     
• Mandatory lockdown: Countries in which government have issued a mandatory lockdown and customers are therefore unable to reach airport
• Flight cancellation: Flights cancelled by Emirates

are eligible for Rebooking and Travel Voucher options:

• Travel voucher for ticket value with a validity of 12 months from date of issue.

• Customers with flight bookings for travel on or before 30 June 2020 can rebook their flights to any Emirates destination within the same region without a rebooking fee or paying any fare difference.

Emirates regions are: Africa; Australasia; Europe; Far East; Gulf, Middle East and Iran; Indian Ocean Islands; North America; South America; West Asia

 

Customers who booked directly with Emirates can visit the Travel Voucher webpage. Customers who booked with a travel agent must contact them for further assistance with their bookings.

To receive the latest notifications on your flight, customers should ensure their contact details are updated by visiting manage my booking.

If you are looking for support with repatriation flights, the best source of information is your own country government guidance, please check their websites or contact your embassy.

Please check our website regularly regarding flight resumption schedules. We will update this page as soon as we have the information.

[puchooay]

20 minutes ago, drbeach said:

That's because there was a statement by Emirates that clarified that they will only be suspending all flights to some destinations. Thai flights remain on the schedule, though that could change at anytime of course.

There was a subsequent announcement, as posted by another poster above, that ALL flights were suspended. In fact the whole of Dubai airport is now shutdown.

 

My point is, I booked a flight from London to Bangkok. How can they only cancel half of it?

 

I suspect I will receive another email at sometime that shows cancellation of the other legs too. 

 

I have already decided to get a travel voucher anyway. I will not worry about this trip but plan another.

 

I tend to disagree that some airlines will still e flying in May. I can see world wide airport closures. I don;t think a huge company like Emirates would simply make a decision to close down for 2 weeks. The logistics of it don;t make sense. I can see them extending bit by bit. Maybe the 2 weeks announcement was to keep the helplines from being jammed by people travelling in a month, 2 months or more.

Edited March 26, 2020 by puchooay

[tso310]

8 minutes ago, puchooay said:

There was a subsequent announcement, as posted by another poster above, that ALL flights were suspended. In fact the whole of Dubai airport is now shutdown.

 

My point is, I booked a flight from London to Bangkok. How can they only cancel half of it?

 

I suspect I will receive another email at sometime that shows cancellation of the other legs too. 

Because technically you have 2 flight bookings although they are on the same booking reference I suspect the computer system only deals with the affected flight. Plus they have your money.

[jimmjam]

14 hours ago, tso310 said:

Because technically you have 2 flight bookings although they are on the same booking reference I suspect the computer system only deals with the affected flight. Plus they have your money.

Agreed it will be probably an automated response for the affected flight. So your other half of the trip will not be mentioned. I believe what this means is they want you to contact them to arrange another flight. Which will not happen. You probably wont even get a response or a response anytime soon.

They will hold on to your money like all airlines do.

[Mike Teavee]

22 hours ago, puchooay said:

don;t think a huge company like Emirates would simply make a decision to close down for 2 weeks

The decision to have a 2 week close down was made by the UAE government hence it also impacts Etihad (Abu Dhabi), the rest of the cancellations are for commercial reasons.

 

E.g. Singapore will only allow Singaporean citizens, PRs & Long Term Pass holders in essential services to enter or transit in Singapore so the Emirates flights from places like Sydney/Melbourne etc... to SIN are empty & not commercially viable to operate. 

[puchooay]

8 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

The decision to have a 2 week close down was made by the UAE government hence it also impacts Etihad (Abu Dhabi), the rest of the cancellations are for commercial reasons.

 

E.g. Singapore will only allow Singaporean citizens, PRs & Long Term Pass holders in essential services to enter or transit in Singapore so the Emirates flights from places like Sydney/Melbourne etc... to SIN are empty & not commercially viable to operate. 

The original announcement was by Emirates airlines. Then again, who owns the airline? Very likely all of the announcements are originating from the same place.

 

I have been receiving regular emails about the situation with links to refunds by way of travel voucher for full amount of flight or reschedule within the same region at no extra charge. That would seem to negate the doom and gloom suggestions that they are trying to steal my money.

 

I haven't made any direct enquiries yet, in line with their request to kindly wait until nearer the travel date.

 

I'm not worried at all. I was just slightly confused. I still believe I will get another email about the other legs of my flight as and when.

[beano2274]

my wife and daughter are also stuck in Thailand, they had a return on 23rd March via Singapore, but by then Singapore had already cancelled the flights to Europe, she was informed she could still fly to Singapore from Bangkok but does not help anyone. We have agreed that she should now stay until end of April at the earliest, but this is also dependant on flights back to Germany.

[Mike Teavee]

15 hours ago, beano2274 said:

my wife and daughter are also stuck in Thailand, they had a return on 23rd March via Singapore, but by then Singapore had already cancelled the flights to Europe, she was informed she could still fly to Singapore from Bangkok but does not help anyone. We have agreed that she should now stay until end of April at the earliest, but this is also dependant on flights back to Germany.

Current SG guidance is only citizens, PRs & LTPs in essential roles (need permission from MoM) can fly into Singapore whether entering the country or transiting

 

UK Gov is working to get agreement with SG about getting UK citizens back home (albeit this seems to be more focused around people returning from Aus & NZ than Thailand) so would strongly recommend you wait until you can get a through flight home before thinking of heading to SG 

 

Edit: Apologies I have just noticed you're family are flying back to Germany, cannot comment on arrangements made by your government with Singapore but as things stand nobody is able to fly into there unless Citizens, PRs or Long Term Pass holders in essential roles. 

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Mike Teavee