Coronavirus outbreak

They had been scheduled to open today, January 18th, but it wasn’t to be with Covid-19 cases remaining stubbornly high. NEW

The government will decide by Wednesday if and when the ski resorts can run their lifts. Some fear if there is another delay then the season will effectively be a write off, but it may be necessary to save lives in the battle against Covid-19.

Mandatory Covid testing will now be introduced for everyone arriving in England om Monday 18th January. People will need a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than three days before departure. UPDATED

British-owned ski companies in the Alps are re-inventing themselves to provide a lifeline in these difficult times. Two business owners in France tell PlanetSKI how they’ve been forced to adapt to survive. 

They were supposed to open on Thursday 7th January but the authorities in Paris have said they must stay closed.  It is a bitter blow for the resorts, many of whom had prepared their slopes. The government said it is necessary to defeat Covid-19.

Ski Total and Flexiski holidays are also cancelled. All brands are run by the Swiss company, Hotelplan.  It follows the UK lockdown and there are serious doubts about much of the rest of the season for all UK ski companies.

Italy has postponed the reopening of its ski resorts until later this month at the earliest. January 18th is the date pencilled in. In the Pyrenees Andorra has open some slopes for local residents only. UPDATED

With this season looking like it could be a write-off, UK ski tour operators and travel agents say key dates for next winter are selling fast.

Some cantons have ski areas open, others have shut them. The Federal government has closed restaurants, but some were allowed to open. Now they are closed. It is, to say the least, a confusing picture.

The authorities had ordered UK skiers into isolation if they arrived after December 14th. Now flights resume between to the two countries but only for nationals returning home for Xmas.

All flights are banned for the foreseeable future and all people who have arrived from the UK since the 14 of December are required to go into a 10-day quarantine.

Which ski resorts are open, what are the restrictions and when might we see the others opening? Check out our weekly review of where we now stand as the situation changes across the Alps, the Pyrenees & beyond. UPDATED

The lifts may not be running but hotels can open and ski touring, cross-country and snowshoeing are allowed. It’s all looking very different in these Covid-19 times.

Quarantine for people arriving in England is to be reduced to five days. Then people will need to take a test and, if negative, they can end their self-isolation. There are reports of problems though. NEW

Plenty of restrictions remain in place from Tuesday with lifts not turning in ski resorts, but now people can travel to the mountains. Locals have been skinning up, though some districts have banned touring as so many are heading uphill and threatening extra pressure on hospitals.

Which ski resorts are open, what are the restrictions and when might we see the others opening? Check out our weekly review of where we now stand as the situation changes across the Alps, the Pyrenees & beyond.

On January 1st the border will be closed as Covid-19 restrictions coincide with Brexit changes. Skiing will be off limits for people from the UK. There are growing concerns that UK citizens might be barred from all EU countries in three weeks. UPDATED

Current Covid-19 rules only allow people from the EU, European Economic Area and Schengen countries to cross the borders. There are a handful of exceptions, but newspaper reports claim the EU has indicated the UK will not be exempt. The Foreign Secretary has played down the reports.

Swiss Federal Railways has said that the connections would be halted at the border crossings in the Alps as its staff simply did not have the capacity to carry out the coronavirus checks required by Italian authorities.

It looks like some will and some won’t, with final decisions expected this week. Elsewhere in the Pyrenees Andorra and France are not opening until January. NEW

The announcement has been made by the Federal government. Many will welcome the move and many others will worry about it helping to spread coronavirus in a country that continues to have a high infection rate.