FCO adds more countries to ‘no-go’ list
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is advising against all but essential travel to 35 countries, and the list continues to grow.
At the weekend, the FCO advised against all but essential travel to the US, after President Trump added the UK and Ireland to his country’s ban on flights. The flight ban comes into force at 4am GMT on Tuesday morning.
On Sunday, it extended its advice against travel to certain areas of Spain, and its advice now applies to the whole country.
As of Monday morning the FCO advises against all but essential travel to 35 countries. In addition to above, they include China, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Indonesia, Poland, Kenya, Cyprus and South Africa,
The FCO also advises against all but essential travel to Argentina, Albania, Burma, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kosovo, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Mongolia, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
The TRIP Group (Travel Risk Incident Prevention Group) is advising people to do more than just listen to FCO advice before deciding whether to travel or not.
Lloyd Figgins, travel risk expert and chairman of the TRIP Group said: "Whilst it’s important to know what the latest industry and FCO advice is, it’s just as important to do your own risk assessment, research and emergency planning.
"Your personal circumstances can significantly impact how great the risk of travelling is to you. For example, can you afford to be isolated in another country for a month? Will your employer continue to pay you? Do you have elderly relatives you care for? All these things increase the risks to you if you decide to travel. It’s not as simple as being told it’s safe or it isn’t.
"You could be in mid-air when the country you are travelling to decides to isolate all travellers on arrival. It’s that volatile at the moment and people need to consider all eventualities and how it would impact them personally.
"We aren’t saying do or don’t travel, we are saying really understand the personal risks before you do and by using the risk list you will be in a better position to make a more informed decision which is right for you."
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Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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