Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department's guidance last updated on 7 April 2020, Financial assistance abroad, if he will provide additional assistance to UK citizens required to pay higher airline fees to return to the UK from overseas as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we remain committed to ensuring that British travellers around the globe are able to return home.
We hope most travellers will be able to claim their costs from their travel insurance but for those British nationals that cannot afford the cost of a flight to return, and have no other funding options, they may be eligible for financial support through an emergency loan from public funds.
To help more British nationals who need a loan return to the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has streamlined the process for emergency loans, and begun working with a commercial travel agency (Corporate Travel Management or CTM) to ensure loan recipients' have travel arrangements in place to return home.
More details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-assistance-abroad/financial-assistance-abroad#if-you-need-financial-help-abroad.