There coming home finally trapped cruise passengers
In a statement released this evening Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines can confirm that flights to take guests aboard Braemar back to the UK will depart from Jose Marti Airport, Havana, from tomorrow (Wednesday, 18th March) evening. There will be three flights chartered from British Airways, flying to London Heathrow Terminal 5, the first of which will take off from Havana at 6pm local time (10pm UK time), landing into London Heathrow at 06.30 UK time. The final flight will land at 10.30 UK time. Any guests who have received a positive diagnosis for coronavirus, or have displayed any flu-like symptoms, plus their companions, will return to the UK on a separate flight. This has been secured in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. All guests on this flight will have medical professionals available and will have support with any onward travel arrangements or requirements. In accordance with advice from Public Health England, all guests on this flight will be required to self-isolate for 14 days once they have returned home. We are making arrangements for guests flying back to London Heathrow, including access to coach transfers to either London Gatwick or Manchester airports, where their outbound flights for this cruise departed from. Guests booked via a Tour Operator should wait to receive more information from them. All guests on the British Airways flights into London Heathrow will not be required to self-isolate. We would encourage all guests to monitor the latest updates from Public Health England on their return home. Any guests who are considered not to be well enough to fly will be offered support and medical treatment in Cuba. Braemar is currently standing off around five miles from the coast of Havana. The ship will go alongside in port in the early hours of tomorrow morning, once all four aircraft have arrived in Cuba. There are currently 28 guests in isolation, having shown influenza-like symptoms. This includes two people who tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus at our last port of call, Willemstad, Curaçao, on Tuesday (March 10th). A dedicated Braemar Relative Support Team has been set up at Fred. Olsen’s UK Head Office to give a direct point of contact for those who have relatives on board. Relatives can reach this team by calling +44 (0) 1473 292350 between the hours of 8am and 8pm.
