Flight traffic out of Britain has returned virtually to normal after the disruption caused by last week's terrorist attacks, although British Airways flights to Islamabad remain suspended until further notice.
The Foreign Office today advised British nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan until further notice. All Britons now in Pakistan were urged to leave the country.
The major British carriers to the USA are operating a near-full service from Gatwick and Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic have returned to a completely normal schedule, and only three British Airways flights, all from Heathrow (BA213 to Boston, BA207 to Miami and BA297 to Chicago), remain cancelled. BA expect to resume a full transatlantic service by September 23.
Both airlines have cleared the backlog of passengers stranded in America following the attacks, and say that those with confirmed tickets can now simply turn up at the airport and expect to travel as normal, although BAA still advises that passengers check with their airline beforehand.
Passengers booked to travel to New York until Friday September 21 still have the option of claiming a full refund or rebooking their flight for another service leaving before October 31. Flights leaving for other US destinations can be rebooked but not refunded.
British Airways have requested that, despite earlier advice to the contrary, passengers do not arrive for flights hours before their designated check-in time. The check-in procedure is now "operating as normal and according to schedule", and the deluge of early arrivals is causing congestion problems at airports.
Virgin have announced that transatlantic services are to be cut amid fears of a recession and a downturn in air travel. No details have been confirmed but services to Toronto and Chicago are likely to be stopped in early October.
New security measures which have banned passengers from carrying sharp objects in their hand luggage have added to the delays.
Gatwick and Heathrow reiterated passengers should not carry sharp objects, including nail scissors, razor blades and even knitting needles, among their hand luggage, and should allocate extra time for checking-in.
• A definitive list of items now banned from aircraft cabins has been released and passengers are urged to comply with the new requirements.
The list includes:
• Replica guns (plastic or metal)
• Household cutlery
• Knives with blades of any length
• Letter openers
• Razor blades
• Tradesmen's tools
• Darts
• Scissors
• Knitting needles
• Sports goods such as rackets, cricket bats and golf clubs.
