Who is actually flying internationally right now?
 

I understand some people are repatriating, but who else is flying and why? No judgement, just trying to get a sense. I need to go home t the UK to help my mum out with care for a few weeks and I’m not sure whether immigration will consider this essential. I consider it essential as the alternative is a private carer, which my mother will not allow and then her health will suffer. The plane I am looking at from MIA to LHR is at least half full, so somebody is traveling?
I’m a British citizen and LPR so I should be able to enter both countries, and quarantine in either spots is not an issue as I am working from home.
Who’s flying?

i flew to Rio last weekend. BRU FRA GRU - both flights fully booked. On FRAGRU most were brasilians ( Brazil anyways doesnt admit non-brasilians with few exceptions), in the foreigners immigration line i was with just for or five other ppl (from my flght of 250+).

Probably people who couldn’t decide where they wanted to be during the lockdown.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...ives-1.5594764

While most of us can't imagine spending days on airplanes — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic — Mishel Zrian has been travelling non-stop for more than two months, delivering life-saving bone marrow across the globe.

People like the cases I've heard above where they have family and care responsibilities in different continents, or people who have multiple residences around the world
The lockdown happened so quickly that many of these people stayed where they were but are now starting to repatriate or transitioning between seasonal residences, or now at the time seasonally when they would move between residences.

I have a neighbor who needs to travel to the UK to care for his elderly parents and planning to go later this month.

I agree. I'm one of those people. Scheduled to travel next week.

But surely, some people in Europe would be traveling now for fun. Haven't some places like Italy opened up?

You have got to be joking me. Not a chance.

? Many people are travelling both within their own country and externally. Many parts of Europe had successful outcomes. Touristic areas are seeing some increasing demand and most leisure carriers have been adding back flights.

I don’t know anyone who is planning on going to Europe this year. They’re all postponing their trips to March or next summer.

Just because you don’t doesn’t mean these people are mythical creatures!

Airlines are not increasing their flight schedules again for fun ... the UK airlines wouldn’t be pushing their government to modify or lift the quarantine if they felt there was no point in running flights anyway (although it’s true there’s an underlying message they’d be keen to avoid anyway).

Clearly there is demand, and looking at the schedules airlines seem to be putting together that demand includes intra-Europe.

You're plain incorrect. I can tell you that travel in Europe has picked quite a bit starting Monday (though nowhere near "normal" levels) -- we're seeing it both in the number of tickets sold as well as hotel reservations.

My experience:

In Europe:

• Flight availability and cheap tickets seems only to restart from the beginning of July at the earliest. In June limited flights are available and they are not cheap (>€100). I am not flying until July, and I don't know anyone else who is flying in June.
• Domestic travel seems to have been growing since many restrictions were lifted at the beginning of May.
• Last weekend I took a 5 day leisure trip in Western Germany. Restaurants and hotels were busy - many people on the (river) beaches and in parks enjoying the sunshine. Campsites were full - I even saw a couple of camper-vans with UK registrations.
• In 2 weeks we will take advantage of the relaxed travel restrictions and spend a week going through Austria (and hopefully Slovakia and Hungary - not sure yet).
• Friends have been doing the same thing - where they might have in May taken a weekend trip to a different country the trip has been replaced with a domestic one; travel internationally will be from the end of June onwards.

Intercontinental:

• No idea what is happening here, as no experience.

My wife and I are foreigners in China and we are finishing an employment contract. We have new jobs in Addis Ababa we are supposed to start in August, so hopefully a flight will be available for us!

Now that's an exciting arrangement!

I live in the Middle East and intend to fly back to the UK soon for my normal summer holiday - it's a bit earlier than we would normally go though, because the thought of another month here in lockdown is too much to cope with! We have a house in the UK where we can quarantine.