Virgin Atlantic delays its return of flights to Orlando

Jun 23, 2020 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Tuesday June 23, 2020 3:57pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The United Kingdom's largest carrier of passengers to Orlando has delayed its return to late August 2020.

Virgin Atlantic announced earlier this month that it planned to resume flights to Orlando from July 20, but has now pushed that start date back to August 24 2020 for both London Heathrow and Manchester airports. In addition, the airline points out that the route is still pending CDC approval.

Virgin will begin flying to New York JFK from London Heathrow on July 21 and Miami on August 18 2020.

The United States still has a ban in place on foreign nationals entering the U.S. from the United Kingdom, and the U.K. government continues to advise against all non-essential international travel. While Virgin could resume flights carrying only U.S. citizens, it would seem likely that it would need the restrictions lifting for the airline to make a success of U.S. bound flights. 

In a statement the airline said:

Virgin Atlantic has taken the difficult decision to delay the restart of its London Heathrow to Orlando service and it will now resume on 24th August 2020. Seasonal services from Glasgow and Belfast to Orlando will resume for selected dates in summer 2021. We will continue to monitor our network on an ongoing basis and expect more flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to resume in September and October 2020.

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IanDLBZFJun 27, 2024

Recently Delta has announced seasonal service between London-Heathrow, and Orlando beginning in October. This will be in addition to the service they run to Amsterdam.

Wendy PleakleyJan 05, 2022

Canadian rules allow someone to get tested, travel elsewhere within a 72-hour period, and return home with the same negative test taken before they left the country. It's meant to discourage travel far more than actually promote public safety. I don't necessarily disagree that the approach shouldn't be changed but it's important to note the true purpose of the testing requirement.

SirwalterraleighJan 05, 2022

Just sit back and watch Los Estados Unidos struggle with the latest variant “big kahuna” wave…it should be amusing as always… then we can debate policy…again…

dreamscometrueJan 05, 2022

Wonderful. Now, we just have to get Canada to do that too. I've seen several doctors on the news lately discuss how this is no longer necessary for fully vaccinated people. Especially since it has been shown to do almost nothing.

mktDec 01, 2021

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/01/us-covid-travel-requirements-latest-international-flights-travelers

mktNov 15, 2021

An update. This weekend I noticed a handful of British and European families in the parks, and even an odd German-plated RV parked at Epcot.

mktNov 12, 2021

While out and about in Miami today, I started seeing European tourists. Saw families from Spain and Italy, and a group of Swedish beer geeks at a local brewery.

mktNov 08, 2021

Here's a link to the pre-arrival attestation travelers will be expected to complete: https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/NCEZID-FRM-Combo-Passenger-Disclose-508.pdf

Disstevefan1Nov 08, 2021

For the folks from the UK going to WDW, please post with a photo when you get here! Try to be the first!

mktNov 08, 2021

Bring me some Cantillon

ZeromancerNov 08, 2021

Leaving in 2weeks from Belgium. Let’s hope this will go smoothly

mktNov 08, 2021

I assume that the very first UK and European travelers have just begun arriving. Enjoy your vacations.

nickysNov 01, 2021

So an update for those travelling TO the US with unvaccinated children (including those who have had a single jab). The CDC have confirmed that under 18s will not have to quarantine but will need to take a Covid test 2-3 days after arrival. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2021/10/30/unvaccinated-us-visitors-kids-quarantine-cdc-air-travel-system-nov/6217959001/