How do I know the 90-day rule is logged accurately?

Q I make frequent visits to Portugal and therefore I am acutely aware of the 90/180-day rule for British travellers, limiting our freedom since Brexit. But I am concerned that there seems to be a dangerous anomaly in the official calculation of this rule. I keep my own spreadsheet of time spent in the European Union, taking into account past trips and future plans. I also use SchengenVisaInfo.com, which seems to be the official site. But I have put all my travel dates into the website and there is an 11-day discrepancy – with the website apparently excluding a trip I made at the start of December 2022.

If this is a widespread problem it could result in UK citizens overstaying the 90-day limit, with possibly dire consequences. Can you give this the serious and urgent consideration it appears to deserve?

John P

A As a refresher for anyone unaware of this aspect of the Brexit deal: the UK asked for citizens to be treated as “third country nationals” and therefore subject to a 90-day limit on stays in the EU and wider Schengen area within a spell of 180 days. That means a visit made as long ago as late August 2022 could impinge on your entitlement to visit Portugal tomorrow. Calculations are tricky and rely on border staff adding up the days stamped in your passport, and I commend you keeping track of your visits so diligently. From November 2023 (or possibly later if the timing slips again), the EU entry-exit system should record stays automatically – and, I hope, provide a dashboard reading for us to check our stays.

SchengenVisaInfo.com is an interesting website that often provides useful information on developments in Europe. But it is entirely unofficial. The small print confirms it is “not affiliated with the European Union, the EU Council or any other government agency”. The terms and conditions stress: “We do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of information and shall not be responsible for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies.”

The organisation, I discover, is based in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo – which is neither an EU nor a Schengen area member. As always, be circumspect about anything you read online.

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Q I recently travelled from Costa Rica to the UK with my wife aboard a British Airways flight. I paid extra to fly premium economy, and a further £120 extra to select seats so we could sit together on the 11-hour flight. After take-off I tried to use the entertainment system but it didn’t work. Neither did my wife’s. The flight attendant rebooted the system to no effect. I then tried to use the light to write my diary as I do not sleep on planes. The two lights did not work either. On our return I complained to BA and asked for a refund of the £120 I had paid for selecting seats with, it turned out, faulty equipment. I was not seeking the air fare or premium upgrade to be refunded – just the seat charges as everyone else had a better journey at less cost. The airline has refused. What can I do?

Geoff M

A How infuriating. I imagine the 5,400-mile journey from San José to London was unrelaxing and frustrating. Presumably, the plane was full and there was no opportunity for you to move seats. Unfortunately, British Airways is entirely within its rights to decline a refund. When you buy a flight, few guarantees are made beyond the provision of a seat in working condition. Extras such as in-flight entertainment and functioning reading lights are not part of the contract unless you have specified at the time of booking that you expect them to be provided – and the airline has agreed specifically to provide them. Of course, none of us ever do that.

So if BA wants to decline your claim – which, to me, looks entirely reasonable and proportionate – you have no redress.

Having said that, usual procedure on many airlines when standards fall short is to provide compensation in the form of frequent-flyer points. I have successfully claimed around 8,000 British Airways Avios after flying from South Africa to the UK with no in-flight entertainment. I believe around 10,000 Avios for each of you would be appropriate, and you might want to contact BA one final time, in case the airline wants to change its tune and provide these points. If that doesn’t work, just put it down to experience.

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Q Any suggestions for things to do in Geneva next week?

Linda B

A I infer you are sensibly building in a city break en route to or from a winter-sports trip to the Swiss or French Alps. Geneva is the key ski airport from the UK, and air fares at weekends can soar to extreme levels: next Saturday easyJet’s lunchtime flight to Gatwick is selling at £782 one-way. But demand (exacerbated by the end of half-term) subsides quickly. The corresponding fare on Monday is drops by four-fifths to £147. So carving out a 48-hour stopover can pay for itself, as well as saving you a future there-and-back trip.

To be absolutely honest, among Swiss cities I prefer Zurich and Basel. But Geneva has a gorgeous lakeside setting and some compelling attractions. Take in the view from the Promenade de la Treille, an elevated terrace that looks out towards the Jura mountains and is the location for the world’s longest wooden bench – all 126m of it. Close by is the statue of Charles Pictet de Rochemont, the architect of Swiss neutrality. For the finest view, ascend to the twin towers of the cathedral. John Calvin preached reform in the 16th century in the cathedral, and his uncompromising-looking chair is prominently on display.

In terms of set-piece attractions: the International Red Cross Museum at avenue de la Paix 17 tells the compelling story of how the organisation was founded by a Swiss businessman, Henri Dunant, who was appalled by the suffering of soldiers in 19th-century battles. The exhibition makes depressingly clear how many current conflicts continue. More optimistically, take tram 18 to its terminus at the Cern campus, where the Large Hadron Collider is buried beneath the ground. As a by-product to research on particle physics, a scientist named Tim Berners-Lee conceived the world wide web here.

For dining out, try the Brasserie des Halles de l’Ile, occupying a former marketplace, or the steak frites at the Café de Paris at Rue du Mont-Blanc 26. The only dish at this historic bistro is sirloin cooked as you wish and served with herb butter, three helpings of chips and a green salad.

For next winter: midweek flight savings also apply to other great cities that are gateways to ski resorts, including Turin in Italy, Munich in Germany and the Austrian pair of Salzburg and Innsbruck.

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Q We were looking at visiting Christmas markets in Tallinn this December but there appear to be zero direct flights from London on sale. Don’t suppose you know the score?

“Beer Baroness”

A Tallinn, more than 1,100 miles time northeast of London, is about the furthest I have heard of anyone going to see the Christmas markets. In December the temperature in the Estonian capital is likely to be extremely low: the average high in the last month of the year is just above freezing. But for visitors who are properly protected against the cold, Tallinn is an attractive, friendly and affordable city, with plenty of cosy and atmospheric bars and cafes in which to warm up.

Access used to be tricky: for many years travellers had to change planes in Moscow or take a train from St Petersburg. But now there are regular nonstop flights: Ryanair has four per week from Stansted, and Wizz Air flies from Luton on the other days. But does the fact that neither airline has “loaded” – ie put on sale – flights mean they won’t be operating to Tallinn next winter? Almost certainly not, according to Neil Taylor, travel industry veteran and author of the Bradt Guide to Estonia. He tells me: “I see that Ryanair and Wizz Air have not yet loaded their flights to Tallinn for next winter, but I think we should assume they will each have three or four flights a week, as they do this winter.”

So you could just wait – and sign up for newsletters from each airline to learn when the flights go on sale. One word of warning: these budget flights tend to depart before 6.30am, which makes for a tough start to a trip that is supposed to be fun. Neil recommends a different airport and airline. He says: “Air Baltic have loaded their flights and they have three direct departures a week from Gatwick to Tallinn in November and December. These have good timings, leaving Gatwick at around 6pm and arriving back from Riga at around 5pm.”

British Airways tried flights from London Heathrow to Tallinn for a season but soon dropped them – presumably because of the tough competition. But I can see a possible gap in the market for an airline that wants to depart from a London airport shortly before midnight and arrive in Tallinn just before 5am, local time. That would make the most of a trip away.

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