A comfort break? My longhaul flight’s seat was shonky

Q Is there any set amount mentioned by the Civil Aviation Authority for compensation to be offered by airlines if, on a longhaul flight, advertised facilities aren’t working? Things like the trays are broken, seats don’t recline and entertainment doesn’t work?

Apurv N

A You have no legal entitlement to compensation. For example, Virgin Atlantic operates only longhaul flights. It has an excellent reputation for its in-flight entertainment and cabin comfort, and these feature strongly in the carrier’s marketing – just as they do with other airlines. But Virgin Atlantic makes it clear in its conditions of carriage: “We will try to provide in-flight entertainment, special meals and other in-flight services as advertised. However, these cannot be guaranteed.” All other airlines say something similar.

If you board a flight and encounter one or more of those problems – a broken seat tray, faulty seat recline and non-functioning entertainment – you should notify the cabin crew. They will do their best to find an alternative. On a completely full flight, that will not be possible (except if someone travelling on a free or heavily discounted staff ticket is switched with you to solve your problem). In my experience, cabin crew will apologise and suggest you lodge a formal complaint with the airline. This may or may not produce results; when the in-flight entertainment system on a British Airways flight from Johannesburg to London failed, I was given (as I recall) 5,000 Avios – worth about £50 when redeemed wisely.

Whenever you book any flight with any airline, you should limit your expectations. As Virgin Atlantic says: “You should not rely on or take into account any information provided about [facilities] when making or amending your booking with us.” Airlines always reserve the right to substitute the type of aircraft used, too. For example, British Airways has been replacing many Airbus A380 “SuperJumbo” flights with the Boeing 777 this summer, which many passengers feel is a downgrade. And the carrier you book with may bring someone else in to do the flying: recently I have flown on Air Arabia rather than Ryanair, Titan Airways in place of easyJet, and Iberia instead of British Airways.

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Q You have been writing recently about passengers being turned away for perceived passport infringements. That supposed “six months left on your passport” rule crops up a lot. Is it an arrivals requirement of any country?

Hugh S

A As you say, a number of travellers – and travel businesses – seem to believe there is a worldwide rule that a passport ceases to be of any value when there are less than six months remaining.

For the most popular countries visited by British passport holders, that is incorrect. The European Union accounts for a large majority of UK travellers’ trips. The requirement is that three months remain after your intended day of departure from the EU (with a unique concern about the issue date, which should not be more than 10 years before the date of entry).

Among Mediterranean destinations outside the EU, Gibraltar and Tunisia have no minimum validity rule. Morocco asks for at least three months to expiry from the day you arrive. Turkey, curiously, insists on 150 days (about five months) from the date you arrive.

Across the Atlantic, the US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Chile impose no minimum remaining validity for British passport holders. The same flexibility is shown by many Caribbean nations, including Barbados, Jamaica and St Lucia. For Antigua, the Foreign Office oddly insists that “your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least six months after the date you arrive”, even though the island’s government says a tourist’s passport must merely be “valid beyond the date of their return ticket”.

Elsewhere in the world, six months’ validity is fairly common. Mostly it is measured from the day you enter, as applies in Egypt, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, and Peru. But sometimes the six months is measured from your intended day of departure – or, in the case of Russia, from six months after your visa expires.

Russian tourist visas, typically for 30 or 90 days, require the longest spell of validity I have identified anywhere – up to nine months, potentially. In contrast, North Korea is part of “team generous” for once: the supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, imposes no demand for minimum passport validity on British visitors. The Foreign Office advises against travel to both Russia and North Korea.

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Q My daughter is due to go to Cyprus on Saturday and is concerned about the present situation in Lebanon. Any advice, please?

Joan P

A As Israeli attacks on Lebanon intensify ahead of a possible ground invasion, understandably people with trips booked to Cyprus are looking at the map of the eastern Mediterranean with concern. The popular Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa is just over 100 miles from the Lebanese capital, Beirut – where almost all airlines have cancelled flights. And 700 British troops have been sent to Cyprus to prepare for a possible evacuation of UK nationals from Lebanon.

Yet the Foreign Office does not have concerns about Cyprus. The official travel advice has not been amended since June 2024, when it was “reviewed for style and accuracy”. Under the heading “Regional risks” the only concern is the long-standing warning about travel to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: “FCDO can only provide limited consular support if you are visiting areas in the north that are not under control of the Republic of Cyprus.” Similarly, the US state department and the Australian government express no alarms about Lebanon in their travel advice to citizens.

I think their stance is the right one. “Overspill” from Lebanon to Cyprus looks extremely unlikely. Consider Syria, which has been in a civil war since 2011 – even though the Mediterranean port of Latakia is only 70 miles from Cyprus, there has been no danger posed to the island as a result of that tragic conflict.

As the Foreign Office does not warn against travel, there is no prospect of being able to cancel a trip for a full refund. Neither will travel insurance be of help; the insurer will say that there is no reason not to go. If your daughter is too concerned to travel, it is legally possible to transfer a proper package holiday to someone else – though time is short to do this before Saturday.

Alternatively, the holiday company may possibly offer the chance to switch to a different destination; this is relatively low season, and there may be capacity elsewhere.

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