Will the CDC drop its Covid testing policy after Easter?

Q We’re due to fly to the US just after Easter. What are our rights should we miss a flight? My main worry is with our UK flights as we’re scheduled to fly from Manchester to Heathrow, then onward to New York JFK. Looking at this week’s flight statistics for our British Airways shuttle to Heathrow, it’s been cancelled once and severely delayed on most days.

Do you also think that the CDC will drop its Covid testing policy for the US after Easter?

Kim C

A I am constantly amazed at the number of people who fly from Manchester (or Glasgow, or Edinburgh) to the US via Heathrow. If I’m not being impertinent, I cannot imagine a worse place to change planes on a transatlantic journey. You will be flying for the first part of the journey away from New York, and could even end up going overhead Manchester on your flight to JFK.

Much better, I think, to travel via Dublin – which is just 20 miles or so longer than the direct flight, and has the added benefit of allowing you to clear US customs and the passport before stepping aboard the transatlantic flight. When you arrive in New York you’re a domestic arrival and can head straight off without the long queues for immigration.

Anyway, we are where we are. Were British Airways to cancel or heavily delay the flight from Manchester to Heathrow, it would be responsible for getting you to the US. BA would need to look at all the possible options – Ideally, for you, one of the non-stop flights direct to New York. These are operated by Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus, and tend to be more expensive. Which I presume is why you booked to go the long way around.

On your second question, I fear the US health regulator, the CDC, is in no great hurry to drop the pre-departure Covid testing requirement. Based on the ponderous history of opening up the US to overseas tourism, I don’t expect any changes until after the main summer peak.

open image in gallery

Q My wife and I are planning a three-week trip to the Olympic Peninsula in July and August. When is the optimum time to book flights and a hire car?

Chris

A I salute your choice of destination. The Olympic Peninsula is unconnected – except in name – with Greece, and instead is the stubby thumb of land that extends from the northwestern corner of the continental United States towards Vancouver Island in Canada. It is the size of Suffolk but with rather more dramatic landscapes and seascapes. The peninsula reaches a grand conclusion at Cape Flattery – northwest America’s Land’s End.

You can access the Olympic Peninsula easily from Seattle by ferry, or reach it overland via Tacoma. But the excellent public transport in the Sea-Tac area rapidly runs out of steam, and a car is essential to explore.

So, when to book? You have chosen to go in peak season, when seats and rental cars are scarce and prices are high. Yet right now the fares I am seeing between London and Seattle are reasonable attractive if you are prepared to make a stop in Vancouver with a short onward hop: on really high demand dates, 23 July outbound and 13 August back, the fare is £740 from Air Canada.

I recommend, though, that you book a fly-drive package through a travel company such as Trailfinders; I buy US trips through this firm because it has good prices plus enough heft with car rental firms to persuade them not to mess you around. But with car-rental rates high – up to £100 per day at present – don’t bank on getting much change from £2,000 per person if you want to have a car for the entire trip.

Can I persuade you to take a few days at the start of the trip in Seattle, without a car? That will save you hundreds on the cost, especially if you pick up the rental car downtown rather than at the airport, with the extra levies that involves. Even better, nudge towards September when the cost could almost halve. Either way, I suggest you book sooner rather than later.

open image in gallery

Q EasyJet cancelled a lot of flights with just a few hours’ notice. Should we be entitled to transfer to another flight to our destination with another airline? The options offered by easyJet don’t mention that. Alternatively, are we entitled to EU compensation on top of the flight refund? The flight refund is often not sufficient to rebook a last-minute flight.

“Maureen 100”

A As you and lots of other people have discovered, easyJet (as well as British Airways) is cancelling dozens of domestic and European flights each day because of staff shortage. The airlines are both blaming high levels of sickness due to Covid-19 but interestingly other short-haul airlines – such as Ryanair, Wizz Air and Jet2 – do not seem to be having problems.

The standard rule when a flight is cancelled, as defined by the Civil Aviation Authority, is that you are entitled to travel on the original day of departure. If the cancelling airline cannot get you there on its own planes, and a seat is available on another carrier, it must pay for the trip. This is entirely separate from cash compensation, which is intended to make up for inconvenience rather than pay for alternative transport.

Looking at today’s grounded 6am flight from Gatwick to Naples, for example, easyJet can put you on the 7.05pm flight on the same route. It will also have to pay £350 in compensation under air passengers’ rights rules. If the cancellation happens while you are at the airport, you are also due “a reasonable amount of food and drink” depending on the length of the delay. For a 12-hour delay that would be two or possibly three meals (no alcohol, mind).

From Gatwick to Kefalonia, though – another Thursday cancellation – easyJet will need to spend hundreds of pounds getting you there. It has no other services on the route, and indeed it has cancelled the only link from the UK to the beautiful Aegean island all day today. The alternative is a flight to Athens, an overnight stay at the airport hotel, meals and an onward domestic flight. Plus, of course, the compensation. This is ferociously expensive for the airline – but also extremely inconvenient for passengers.

open image in gallery

Q Do you think Chile will have dropped its onerous travel rules by March 2023?

“Coopon”

A I certainly hope and expect so. Chile is arguably the most beautiful and enticing of South American nations (though with some tough competition from Colombia). For the last two winters I have been yearning to return. But the government in Santiago appears in no great hurry to see me or you.

Just as a reminder of how tough the rules are now: you must apply at least a month ahead for a pase de movilidad (mobility pass). If you are granted one, your problems are only just beginning. For everyone aged two and over, Chile demands a PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before boarding the final flight into Santiago: given that many people will pass through Madrid or one of the US hubs, that is inconvenient.

You must hold proof of travel insurance covering a minimum of US$30,000 (about £23,000) for Covid-related issues during your stay. Oh, and there’s a declaración jurada (legal declaration) that you have to complete in the 48 hours before boarding.

Even once you touch down, you are not exactly free to roam. You might be singled out for a random test on arrival – with potentially unfortunate consequences. The Foreign Office says: “If you undergo an antigen test, you will need to wait for the results in the airport. If the result is positive, non-resident foreigners will be denied entry into the country.”

The alternative is a PCR test, whereupon you must self-isolate at a hotel until the result is ready. For those who are let in, the health authorities at Santiago airport require a daily “C-19 self-report” for a week. This is not a nation that is desperate for foreign visitors. But bear in mind that today’s date corresponds to 6 October in the southern hemisphere. Only obsessive skiers will want to visit the nation in winter. Once spring arrives in September and October, I am sure that the rules will be easier: bear in mind that just four months ago, the UK introduced the most complex, onerous and expensive arrival rules in Europe, and now they have all gone.

Via the latest Ask Me Anything at independent.co.uk/travel

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder