British Airways will fly the British & Irish Lions squad to South Africa for the Lions Tour

London, UK, 2021-Jun-16 — /Travel PR News/ — British Airways has today (15-06-2021) announced it will fly the 37-strong British & Irish Lions squad to South Africa on June 27 for the eagerly awaited Lions Tour.

The team will be heading directly to Johannesburg on a charter flight from Edinburgh, following The Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup clash against Japan at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday 26 June at 3pm.

The Lions’ arrival in Johannesburg sees the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales embarking on an eight-game Tour of South Africa, including three Tests against World Champions, the Springboks. Both The British & Irish Lions and Springboks will be carried across the country to matches by British Airways’ franchise partner, Comair.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “We are honoured to be flying The British & Irish Lions to South Africa ahead of their tour. After a difficult year, we look forward to uniting the nation through sport and cheering them on. From everyone at British Airways, we wish them the best of luck and hope to carry them home as champions.”

Ben Calveley, Managing Director for The British & Irish Lions, said: “We are delighted to be flying with British Airways for the 2021 Castle Lager Lions Series. We know the squad and management will receive a warm welcome from British Airways staff and enjoy a safe, comfortable journey to South Africa, landing in Johannesburg ready to take on the world champions.”

British Airways is also reinforcing its commitment to sport as the airline is currently the Principal Partner to Twickenham Stadium, Official Airline Partner to England Rugby and has been the Official Airline Partner to Team GB and Paralympics GB since 2008.

The British & Irish Lions have toured South Africa on 13 previous occasions, with the first Tour taking place in 1891. In that time, the Lions have won four Test series, lost eight with one drawn. Their overall record against the Springboks is played 46, won 17, lost 23 and drawn six.

Notes to editors

Safety is at the heart of British Airways’ business. The airline continues to implement a range of measures that it requires customers and colleagues to observe, which include:

• Observing government regulations around advice around travel
• Asking customers not to travel if they think they have any symptoms of Covid-19
• Wearing facemasks and bringing enough to replace them every four hours for longer flights
• Checking-in online, downloading a boarding pass to a mobile device where possible for self-scanning at security and the departure gate
• Observing social distancing and using hand sanitisers that are placed throughout airports
• Asking customers to ensure they have everything they need from their hand luggage before departure, and where possible, storing their carry-on bag under the seat in front of them
• Cabin crew wearing PPE and a new food service, which reduces the number of interactions required with customers

The airline is cleaning all key surfaces including seats, screens, seat buckles and tray tables after every flight and each aircraft is completely cleaned from nose to tail every day. The air on all British Airways flights is fully recycled once every two to three minutes through HEPA filters, which remove microscopic bacteria and virus clusters with over 99.9% efficiency, equivalent to hospital operating theatre standards.

2021 Castle Lager Lions Series schedule:

• Saturday 26 June: The British & Irish Lions v Japan (BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh) KO 1500 (BST)
• Saturday 3 July: Emirates Lions v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Wednesday 7 July: Cell C Sharks v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg) KO 20h00 (SAT) / 19h00 (BST)
• Saturday 10 July: Vodacom Bulls v The British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Wednesday 14 July: South Africa ‘A’ v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) KO 20h00 (SAT) / 19h00 (BST)
• Saturday 17 July: DHL Stormers v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Saturday 24 July: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (1st Test, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Saturday 31 July: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (2nd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)
• Saturday 7 Aug: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (3rd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) KO 18h00 (SAT) / 17h00 (BST)

Contact Details:

For more information please contact press.office@ba.com.

Source: British Airways

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