NeilP

Hi, wonder if anyone could help here.

under the current lockdown / travel restrictions would a Back to Back be possible LHR-VLC this coming Friday to bring back an elderly relative?

mums been caravanning in the south of Spain, and is now under lockdown, they have a dog / caravan so reliant upon ferries restarting otherwise.

they are based near Mercia (no flights), ALC but I did see VLC has a flight.

corporate-wage-slave

The first question would be why you would need to go yourself? Presumably your mother could get assistance at VLC to ensure she got onto the aircraft OK.

But VLC is do-able as a B2B, but you do have to go fully landside, and you would be best to be off the LHR service on arrival in VLC to ensure you could get airside quickly. It has to be said that services are typically running early at the moment, and if you expained the situation to the crew I am sure they wouldn't depart from VLC earlier than normal. Presumably you would meet your mother in airside departures anyway, B2B generally assumes no baggage checking and a swift passage through the system. But as I say, your services may be best restricted to taking your mother from Arrivals back home. As I understand it, you would then best self isolate separately for 2 weeks, and in her case longer potentially depending on her age and health.

NeilP

Thanks CWS. Just wanted to understand if the idea was possible.

mums suffering early dementia and the fear is she won’t get through an airport.

my step dad is resisting mum traveling on her own, so the plan is someone goes across to collect her. Ultimately this needs to co-inside with getting the caravan / dog back too, and that’s another challenge for another forum.

jackr27

Valencia is a strange airport right now. When I was through last Wednesday they'd even turned all the lights off throughout the entire airport (no idea why). This said, it was completely quiet. If you plan to enter Spain, they were checking residency documents quite strictly (indeed, they paid no attention to my passport, or my husband's (Brasilian national), they were more interested in our residency status). I have never connected through Valencia so don't know whether you can remain airside, In our case it appeared they were making everyone go to the immigration queue, but since we weren't connecting, I didn't explore connection options.

ajdj

Spanish borders are closed. Unless you are a Spanish National or have a residency document then it’s a non-starter I’m afraid. I suspect you would be denied boarding as it’s being taken very seriously.

ahmetdouas

If you show you are picking up your mother with dementia and prove you have an ongoing ticket immediately, maybe you get away with it?

jackr27

I wouldn't be confident of this. Passports weren't the issue at immigration, the focus was on residency documents. I imagine that any airline flying people to Spain is also working on that basis.We were connecting from Zurich to Valencia through Heathrow. At both ZRH and LHR we were asked to provide residency documents prior to boarding.

ajdj

Agreed, I’m in Fuerteventura and one of the last flights in from Gatwick on Sunday only had 8 people on board. All were Spanish nationals or residents that had to show documentation before boarding. I can’t emphasise how tough the restrictions are in Spain right now, different level to the UK and ‘getting away with it’ just doesn’t happen here.

tedcruz

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aristoph

I don’t mean to be disrespectful of your religion, but is this seriously necessary travel right now?

tedcruz

Deleted.

cauchy

According to this you might be able to do this, if you can show repatriating an elderly relative that would otherwise be unable to travel is an "imperative family reason".

Redhead

Who is she travelling with now? I assume she wasn't travelling alone if she has early dementia. Why can't she continue to shelter in place.

sodaisei

No. Let me be very clear about this. If you don’t have residence in Spain and a way to prove it you won’t be allowed in.

Also travel by car is extremely restricted right now.

sodaisei

Unless you can proof IN SPANISH that your mother has dementia and can’t return on her own you won’t be able to pick her up, and I’m not even sure that would be a valid reason they would allow you to travel. Your big problem is not the plane, it’s actually driving in Spain there. Controls everywhere, good luck trying to explain that to a very tired and angry police every 50km.

I don’t recommend you doing that. I did VLC - Heathrow - Tokyo when the Spanish lockdown went on (because I live in Japan) and even I am a Spaniard and it’s easier for me to explain the situation I almost get fined.