The new measures, announced by foreign secretary Dominic Raab on Tuesday (17 March), mark a significant escalation of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The FCO, which was already advising against all or all but essential travel to many destinations, said the pandemic had led to “unprecedented international border closures” and other restrictions. It further warned any countries not already restricting travel could do so “without notice”.

Advice not relating to Covid-19 remains in place the FCO added in a statement issued at lunchtime on Tuesday (17 March).

‘Unprecedented conditions’

“This change in travel advice reflects the pace at which other countries are either closing their borders or implementing restrictive measures in response to the global coronavirus pandemic,” said Raab in a statement.

“Often there is little or no notice when countries take these steps, and restrictions are also being imposed in areas where no cases of coronavirus have yet been reported. They are therefore very difficult to predict.

“British people who decide they still need to travel abroad should be fully aware of the increased risks of doing so. That includes the risk they may not be able to get home if travel restrictions are put in place.

“Anyone still considering travel [should] be realistic about the level of disruption they are willing and able to endure, and to make decisions in light of the unprecedented conditions we face.”

Travellers are advised to contact their airline, travel company, cruise line, or any other transport or accommodation provider, as well as their travel insurance provider.

The FCO is not currently advising all UK nationals return immediately, except in countries where there is more detailed travel guidance advising they do so.

“British people should keep in mind flights may be cancelled at short notice or other travel restrictions may be put in place by foreign governments,” said the FCO.

It added: “If people do want to return to the UK soon, then they need to take account of the fast-moving situation and plan accordingly, while flights remain available in many places.”

According to the FCO, UK inbound and outbound travel had declined “significantly” since the outbreak began, with Ryanair, Virgin, easyJet and IAG all cutting capacity.

The FCO revealed that in the past week, it had made 430 changes to its travel advice, more than it made during the entirety of 2019.

Risk of ‘immense damage’ to UK travel businesses

Abta has renewed its call for the government to step in and protect the UK travel sector.

Chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “The UK government has advised against all but essential travel for 30 days. People’s health must be the number-one priority, but consideration needs to be had for the immense damage being done to UK travel businesses which are facing a crisis of unprecedented scale.

“Travel businesses are working around the clock to manage arrangements for customers, including repatriation, and have been trying to provide alternative arrangements for those with imminent departures but this has now become impossible as the virus has spread. Travel agents and tour operators are also facing a huge drop in future bookings.

“Abta is calling for urgent action by the government to help businesses in the short-term by making funds readily available to travel and tourism companies and to make temporary changes to existing package travel regulation with immediate effect. The existing financial protection structures and regulations were not designed to cope with a large-scale collapse of businesses.

“Without these reasonable steps, we risk healthy travel businesses going bankrupt, tens of thousands of job losses across the country and customers losing millions of pounds.”