Will I need an invitation letter to travel to Spain in future?

Q When the European Union “Etias” scheme is finally implemented, will there still be a need for a letter of invitation to Spain when staying at the home of friends or relatives? I know they very rarely ask for it, but it doesn’t mean they can’t.

Andrew G

A The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) will require “third-country nationals” such as the British to go online, provide a wide range of personal details and pay €7 (£6). This is the much-delayed EU version of the American Esta scheme and the UK’s own Electronic Travel Authorisation.

Before Etias can begin, the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) must be running flawlessly across the entire Schengen area, which is almost all of the European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The EES was supposed to be running from last month but was inevitably postponed once again as the individual countries were not ready.

Regardless of when it finally takes effect, Etias will have no effect on individual nations’ laws about documentation by third-country citizens. And the Spanish requirement for a carta de invitation is one of those. The red tape for the hosts is exhausting and expensive (the fee is around £70). Besides full details of you and the exact relación o vínculo (“relationship or bond”) you have with the hosts, they must produce the title deeds to the property and specify the dates when you will be staying.

Having said that, I believe the proportion of British people who have ever bothered getting the document is vanishingly small. This law is aimed squarely at arrivals who need a visa to stay in Spain. The way it was explained to me by an expert in such regulations was this: a Bangladeshi or Russian citizen who wants to visit their relatives is required to obtain the letter as part of the necessary bureaucracy involved in obtaining a visa.

The authorities want comprehensive proof of means of support before issuing the precious paperwork, and this is part of that process. I know of no British travellers who have been asked for it.

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Q What are the best things to do in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt? We are going there for a week in February.

Bradley B

A Sharm el-Sheikh and its surroundings on the Sinai peninsula make for an enticing destination – especially in winter, when the main problem you are likely to encounter is excessive sun. From what I have observed of most holidaymakers visiting Egypt’s premier resort, the beach and its hinterland of bars, restaurants and all-inclusive resorts are the main attractions. But there is so much more on offer.

A small but significant proportion of visitors are here for the diving, and make straight for the offshore wrecks on specialist trips. If, like me, you are not a qualified diver but you are a competent snorkeller, Sharm el-Sheikh has some of the world’s most accessible coral, to which you can dip down through turquoise, translucent water. You could also take a boat trip out to the Ras Mohammed National Park.

On land, pay a visit to the Heavenly Cathedral, about halfway between the ever-popular Naama Bay and the Old Market. This Coptic Christian place of worship is vast, cool and mysterious, and the only real cultural attraction in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Most other activities involve leaving the resort. I shall recommend strongly against a couple of these: the quad bike trips through the desert because it is risky, and the “day trip to Cairo and the Pyramids” on the grounds of exhaustion. There are much better opportunities along the coast, and the Foreign Office now accepts that it is safe enough to venture the entire length of the Sinai coastline.

Dahab, a much quieter and more relaxed resort than Sharm el-Sheikh, is accessible by scheduled bus, though if you team up with other travellers you may be able to find a taxi driver to take you for a reasonable sum.

The ultimate experience is to climb Mount Sinai in the early hours and watch the sunrise from the summit. Plenty of companies compete to offer trips; I recommend you find one that won’t make it an all-night experience but will pick you up about three hours before dawn.

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Q I was caught up travelling during the storm, flying from Geneva to London with British Airways. I was on the 12.20pm flight on Sunday, my daughter was on the 3.30pm. BA seemed to be cancelling every other plane. I therefore expected a full flight. This was not the case with either my flight or my daughter’s.

Was the airline trying to cut the number of flights under cover of the storm and eliminate unprofitable flights? Also, both my flight and my daughter’s kept us waiting on board on the ground for two-and-a-half hours. They avoided compensation for us (though may have paid for the cancelled flights). Was British Airways playing games?

John I

A Sorry to learn of your frustrating journey, but Storm Darragh played havoc with airline schedules at the weekend. Among around 200 cancellations at London Heathrow, there were multiple grounded flights from Geneva – not just on BA but on Swiss as well. This was down to a general reduction in the number of aircraft that could land during the severe weather.

However, I am certain that British Airways did not make any cancellations on commercial grounds. The airline – like other carriers – wants to fly its full schedule. All kinds of reasons could explain the light load on your flights, including travellers who were booked but took up BA’s offer to switch to alternative departures in the week ahead.

Many passengers flying from Geneva are transferring to intercontinental destinations from Heathrow, and it may be that some of the people booked on your flight were in this position. Given the way that the schedules were unravelling, British Airways may have found alternative routings for them – for example via Madrid on sister airline, Iberia.

On the compensation question: nobody whose flight was cancelled because of the storm will get a payout, as bad weather is beyond the airlines’ control. You were theoretically entitled to some light refreshments because of the length of your delay in departing; this right kicks in after two hours on a flight like yours that is under 1,500km. But airlines generally prefer to get everyone on board and strapped in so that if a slot suddenly becomes available the pilots can take off immediately, rather than rounding up coffee drinkers from the departure lounge.

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