Flight changes are ruining my ski trip – what can I do about it?

Q Eight of us are booked to go skiing, travelling on British Airways from London Heathrow to Lyon on 26 January. Our 8.30am flight on BA from Heathrow to Lyon has been changed from a decently early start to 2.40pm, and our Sunday return flight changed from 4.35pm return to an early morning 7.45am.

Not only was this annoying – but when searching a replacement flight outbound, we saw that British Airways was advertising our original flight out at exactly the same time. Not cancelled after all.

Coming home, BA has a return flight at 5.35pm – only an hour after our existing booking from many months ago. On the website we’re directed to call them, but when I’ve tried calling after a long wait I get automatically cut off, with the message “make changes on the website”. How can we get BA to honour our original booking?

Marke B

A I’m confused about your assertion of the original outbound flight still being advertised by British Airways. At ba.com right now I see only a 1.40pm departure from London Heathrow to Lyon on Wednesday 26 January. I’ve checked the Wednesdays either side and while the only flight in evidence on 12 and 19 January is at 1.40pm, there’s also an 8.30am on 2, 9 and 16 February. The only reason I can imagine that you can still see an 8.30am on 26 January is that you are looking at a metasearch site that has not been recently updated.

I would put the cancellation down to lack of demand: British Airways wanting to combine the morning and afternoon flights to save cash. There is an awful lot of that sort of thing around. Given the excruciating squeeze on airlines’ finances, they are not inclined to run services at a loss.

European air passengers’ rights rules stipulate remedies when flights are cancelled. But I don’t believe they will come to your aid: BA is offering you transport within five hours or so of your original trip and therefore will disclaim liability for a replacement flight on a different airline.

Looking at the return journey on (presumably) Sunday 30 January, I am equally confused: yes, there are two departures at 7.45am and 5.35pm, but there is space on both of them and prices are not wildly different. I imagine what happened on this leg was “computer said move passengers earlier”.

I appreciate how frustrating it is to hit problems calling the airline, too. Personally I find 9am on Sunday (when the call centre opens) brings results. Do set your alarm, and remember the clocks go back tonight.

open image in gallery

Q Which of the now former red list countries will you visit first?

Chris Y

A At last, the seven Latin American locations bizarrely categorised as high risk by the UK are to be removed from the red list at 4am on Monday 1 November. From that moment, arrivals from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela need no longer go into hotel quarantine.

With winter encroaching at British latitudes, I would happily visit any tomorrow – except, I am sad to say, Venezuela, where the government’s catastrophic handling of the economy has created extreme stress and suffering. The Foreign Office warns: “There is a high threat from violent crime and kidnapping throughout Venezuela, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Armed robbery, mugging, carjacking, and burglary are all common and are often accompanied by extreme levels of violence.” Soon I hope the nation will sort itself out.

Meanwhile, there is huge relief in the travel industry that the Dominican Republic is back on the destination screens, but it will take time for airlines to schedule flights to the Caribbean nation. Hotels could also be a problem in the Dom Rep, since many proprietors have switched from the UK market to the US. Next time I get there, I will cross the border to experience Haiti. Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will provide great adventures at some point in future.

But for a swift reminder of the joys of Latin America, Panama provides an excellent option. This small nation contains a wealth of wonders, from idyllic Caribbean islands to the trans-continental Panama Canal – as well as Central America’s finest capital city.

Finally, from an infection point of view, I have no concerns: each country has far lower coronavirus infection rates than the United Kingdom. For many weeks it has been clear that a traveller would be safer in one of the “suspect seven” rather than in the UK.

open image in gallery

Q You have been writing about the US opening up to fully vaccinated British travellers – and their children – next month, but you haven’t mentioned people who haven’t been jabbed. I believe the US is allowing unvaccinated travellers in with a test taken a day before departure.

Denise W

A The reason I have focused on fully vaccinated British travellers is because the number of unvaccinated UK visitors who might be allowed into the US is extremely small.

In the presidential proclamation that confirmed the reopening on 8 November to arrivals from the UK (and many other nations), President Biden talked of “an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination”. His proclamation suspends the entry of almost all “unvaccinated non-citizen non-immigrants” – who, in plain English, are prospective foreign visitors to the US who have not been fully jabbed.

The main exemptions for unvaccinated non-American adults comprise air or sea crew; people with diplomatic, UN or armed forces accreditation; arrivals from countries with limited vaccination programmes (clearly not the UK); those with medical contraindications to the vaccines; and people who have participated “in certain clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccination”.

The last of these is the category most likely to be of benefit to British travellers. The Centers for Disease Control, which is the Federal health authority, has a list of vaccine trials whose participants may be accepted – including AstraZeneca, Janssen, Moderna and Pfizer. But you will need to assemble evidence to the satisfaction of your airline, which will require “official documentation (eg clinical trial letter, participant card, or modified vaccination card) of clinical trial participation” and confirmation you had the full sequence of vaccines, rather than a placebo.

All unvaccinated arrivals who are given an exemption must take a Covid test no more than one day before travelling to the US, which is perhaps where your belief originates. But that is a long way from saying that unvaccinated foreigners will be admitted with just a test.

open image in gallery

Q Another question about testing before travel to the US. I’m confused. I understand that tests have to be supervised in person or via a video call. Is this correct? There aren’t many tests you can do that offer this service at a low cost – they’re typically £45-ish.

Vickie L

A When the US finally opens to arrivals from the UK on 8 November, fully vaccinated travellers – and unvaccinated children aged two to 17 travelling with them – must take a test before departure. This can happen on the day of departure or one of the three preceding days. You can use either a quick and relatively cheap lateral flow test or a slower, more expensive PCR.

The only reason I can imagine for choosing the latter is if you are travelling to the US via Canada, for which a PCR (or other molecular test) is required. In those circumstances, you could use the same result for both countries, so long as you adhere to the timing rules.

Most British visitors to the US will opt for a lateral flow test. For the avoidance of doubt, you cannot use a free NHS test; it must be paid for privately. Nor can you use a provider where you simply email in a photograph of you and the test result; this arrangement is widely open to fraud and is not approved by the US health regulator, the Centers for Disease Control.

In theory you could use a video-supervised test, but this option is really only intended for American residents who order a test in advance: it must have have received “Emergency Use Authorisation” from the US Food and Drug Administration. As far as I know, no UK provider offers this option.

So as far as I can see, a professionally administered test is the only sensible option. You could take this at a local provider; Boots has a £30 option. Or you could take the test at the airport prior to departure; Collinson has a deal for £40. See if your airline has a deal with the firm; an arrangement with carriers reduces the cost to £32.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder