‘No permission, no travel’: UK gives final warning before ETA enforcement in February 2026
Blizzard grounds flights, halts rail lines and snarls Eurostar as UK hit by winter’s first major travel test
Border Security Act powers kick in: officers begin seizing mobile phones from Channel arrivals
Latest News
Harmondsworth detainees allege ‘degrading treatment’, urge UN probe into UK’s ‘one-in, one-out’ returns scheme
Asylum seekers at Harmondsworth say they suffer poor medical care and psychological distress under the UK’s ‘one-in, one-out’ returns agreement with France. Their call for a UN investigation coincides with new enforcement powers and impending deportation flights, raising fresh scrutiny of the government’s migration strategy.
1,600-plus flights disrupted at UK hubs as knock-on from weather and staffing squeezes bites
AirHelp logged over 1,600 flight disruptions across the UK on 5 January, illustrating how severe weather plus staffing constraints can cascade through the aviation system. Companies should familiarise themselves with EC 261 entitlements and build buffer days into assignment start dates during winter.
Home Office updates ‘Restricted Leave’ guidance, tightening conditions after Border Security Act commencement
UKVI has revised its ‘Restricted Leave’ guidance to incorporate new powers under the Border Security Act, allowing stricter curfews and harsher penalties for non-compliance. Although niche, the update signals a tougher stance on migrants who cannot be deported, requiring employers and advisers to review any affected staff cases.
Severe snow and ice warnings bring major travel disruption across the United Kingdom
A sweeping Arctic front has placed large parts of the UK under Met Office Amber and Yellow snow/ice warnings, grounding regional flights, slowing rail lines and making key roads impassable. Business travellers face cancellations and delays, while employers must sharpen duty-of-care and immigration-compliance planning if assignments are extended. The disruption underscores how extreme weather can quickly complicate mobility schedules.
Ex-Border Force chief urges five-point crackdown to halt record Channel crossings
Tony Smith, former head of the UK Border Force, has outlined a hard-line five-point plan to curb Channel crossings, including leaving the ECHR and reviving offshore processing. Though not official policy, the proposal raises the political temperature around immigration and could foreshadow stricter rules that indirectly affect corporate mobility programmes.