On 29 December there will be a special flight from London to Tallinn operated by Nordica to allow Estonian nationals stranded in the UK due to COVID-19 travel restrictions the opportunity to return home. This special flight organized by the Estonia Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take on board those who have already registered their short-term stay in the UK at the Estonian MFA´s foreign travel advice portal and are still in urgent need to repatriate but were put on the waiting list for an earlier special flight from London to Riga on 28 December operated by Air Baltic.
As agreed between foreign ministries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the second special flight from London to Tallinn on 29 December will also take on board Latvian and Lithuanian nationals in urgent need to return.
The flight operated by Nordica departs from London to Tallinn on 29 December at 11:00 AM. The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contact those who have already registred at https://reisitargalt.vm.ee and indicated their need for urgent return. The MFA will provide them with booking details, however, all travellers need to purchase a ticket for the flight. Priority will be given to passengers who are most at risk, i.e. unaccompanied minors, families with small children and people aged 65 or older.
The special flight is not intended for short-stay travellers coming to Estonia for holidays; it is rather for returning Estonian nationals who permanently reside in Estonia. The restriction on direct passenger flights between Estonia and the United Kingdom remains in force until 31 December 2020.
On 23 December, the Government of Estonia decided on additional self-isolation requirements for passengers arriving from the United Kingdom. Starting from 28 December, the required self-isolation period will be extended to 14 days. Passengers arriving from the United Kingdom must self-isolate for 7 days after their first negative COVID-19 test on arrival, and then take another test. Only if the second test is negative, too, they may return to work to resume urgent duties.
Estonians residing in the United Kingdom and wishing to return to Estonia should be advised that there is no guarantee that travel restrictions will be lifted, that regular air traffic will resume and that it will be possible to return in the immediate future.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
[email protected]
