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The Ministry of Tourism and Transport has confirmed that British Airways (BA) will resume commercial flight service between Grand Cayman and London, Heathrow Airport as of Monday 27 September.

The airline will operate a variable schedule three times per week based on a seasonal timetable and travel demand. The BA service will also resume the flight route via Nassau, Bahamas from week commencing 27 September 2021.

The Bahamas is currently rated as an Amber list country by the UK Government and it is recommended that travellers review UK entry guidelines for the latest on arrival rules by visiting https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england

Currently travellers who transit through Amber countries to the UK must verify their vaccination status on arrival, or if unvaccinated self-isolate for 10 days. Passengers who travel on the BA flight via Nassau will be classed as arriving from an Amber country on arrival in the UK. This means that unvaccinated travellers from the Cayman Islands will have to self-isolate for 10 days if travelling on a BA flight from 27 September onwards.

For vaccinated travellers, the UK is not presently accepting HSA vaccination cards given to Cayman Islands residents as verified proof of vaccination. Cayman Islands Public Health have developed a standard certificate in line with other British Overseas Territories which can be used for entry through the UK border. The letters of certification may be requested from the Office of the Medical Officer of Health by emailing vaccinecertification@hsa.ky attaching a copy of their vaccination card, as a screen shot attached to the email request. All requests will take three business days to process.

All inbound travellers to the Cayman Islands are reminded to complete the online travel form via the Travel Cayman portal https://www.exploregov.ky/travel. A Travel Cayman certificate is required prior to travel and must be presented at airport check-in.

Minister Bryan commented on the latest development ‘I am pleased that BA has taken the decision to resume scheduled commercial service to the UK. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in organising and facilitating the repatriation flights, in particular the Governor’s office, Travel Cayman and staff from the Ministry of Tourism and Transport and British Airways. Their collective dedication and hard work allowed the essential airbridge between our two countries to remain open while borders were closed.’