Travel to or through Paris – update
24 Nov 2015
Advice to University colleagues in wake of terrorist attacks
Following the tragic events in Paris on Friday, 13 November, the University offers the following advice to colleagues travelling to, or through, Paris:
- Firstly, the need to travel should be re-evaluated. If staff or students are not comfortable travelling then they must not do so.
- Secondly, for any travel into, or through Paris (including CDG), the risk assessment for travel should be reviewed and signed off by the appropriate Head of School/Director. For the majority of travellers low level risk assessments will have been appropriate. As the risk picture has now changed, these must at least be documented for this specific trip. A sample risk assessment is available on the Intranet at:
- Thirdly, please ensure that the fact you are travelling to/through Paris is registered with your Head of School/ Head of School Administration/Director. It is important that, where possible, your travel is booked via the Egencia travel system. By doing so, we are able to follow up quickly in the event of an incident.
As with all travel, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO’s) position should be established. The current FCO advice for Paris is:
On Friday, 13 November, a number of terrorist incidents took place in Paris resulting in widespread casualties. You should be vigilant in public places, follow the advice of the local authorities and subscribe to email alerts for updates to this travel advice. French authorities have heightened security measures so allow time in your travel plans for any disruption this may cause. Systematic border control checks have been implemented at all entry points into France. A national state of emergency has been declared for three months. Public gatherings, flying drones and the use of fireworks in the Ile de France region (Paris and surrounding area) are prohibited.
If the situation changes significantly, we will update this advice, which is current as of Tuesday, 24 November.