Thomas Cook ceased trading

[cdneh 3,112]

I have a friend in the UK who is presently visiting her sister in the USA. Presently she is waiting for a repatriation flight. She is happy of course to stay a bit longer, but what if this ends up in an overstay?

[geowrian 22,337]

If she ends up overstaying, she will need a new visa (and is ineligible for the VWP). The reason for overstay doesn't matter, except for the CO's decision on a new visa being issued.

[Boiler 45,467]

Plenty of flights back to the UK, no need tp overstay.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Just now, Boiler said:

Plenty of flights back to the UK, no need tp overstay.

This. Waiting for a no-cost replacement is not a valid reason for overstay. I know it sucks, but many and varied flight problems (weather and bankruptcies are both not that uncommon) are among the reasons one should not book flights back just before the period of stay validity expires.

[Boiler 45,467]

Seems unlikely the sister is on a package holiday.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Seems unlikely the sister is on a package holiday.

Apparently the British government has some kind of insurance scheme for Brits on British operators who go bang, or something. I presume that is the repatriation flight she is waiting for.

[Boiler 45,467]

Assuming sister was on a flight only deal and was using the VWP then she would need to have been looking to stay more than 76 days and it happens now and have a delayed repatriation that took more than 14 days and - well seems a lottery situation.

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

If she waits for a repatriation flight, it's gonna be a while because they said there are literally tens of thousands of people all over the world in the same situation.

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

They are now saying hundreds of thousands of travelers are facing this nightmare.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Don’t you think they’re being a bit dramatic about all this “largest peacetime repatriation effort” stuff though? It’s people going home from holidays, it’s not like they’re being rescued from disaster zones.

 

Also isn’t this what travel insurance is for? I understand that it’s hard to get hundreds of thousands of people onto other flights in a short time if you’re trying to do it en masse... but individuals can have other alternatives rather than waiting for the government to do it at no extra cost but at some undetermined future time. After all these are people holidaying abroad, one assumes they’re not on the breadline.  I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic, but there are likely to be alternatives for those who really need them. Maybe Madagascar or something would be very tricky, but for those who need a flight back from the US before their authorized stay expires, certainly many options.

Edited September 23, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

3 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Don’t you think they’re being a bit dramatic about all this “largest peacetime repatriation effort” stuff though?

Lol haha, yes, adding to it the British accent, too. But, you're right, this is not Dunkirk. It's not like the Germans are coming for these people. Everybody will make it home safely at some point. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

5 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

 It's not like the Germans are coming for these people. 

Yeah, that was the Brexit issue not Thomas cook!

[Boiler 45,467]

The majority of those impacted are not from the UK.

 

Might be a backlog coming back from Benidorm but not from the US.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

One could always try to book trans-atlantic passage on a ship if flights aren't available.

[Dashinka 24,488]

11 minutes ago, Russ&Caro said:

One could always try to book trans-atlantic passage on a ship if flights aren't available.

Being a Brit, I imagine she could plan a trip to Canada prior to any overstay and then return to the UK from there,