Family holiday wrecked after Covid test taken 15 minutes too early
Exclusive: easyJet turned mother and son away because their lateral flows were timed before departure, not arrival
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A mother and her son have spent the day at Luton airport rather than beside the Adriatic after easyJet turned them away from a flight to Split.
Their error: to take the lateral flow tests Croatia demands 48 hours before departure, not arrival.
Ground staff turned them away – causing them to lose a day of their holiday and leaving them hundreds of pounds out of pocket for new flights, tests and a hotel before the Thursday morning flight.
The pair, who do not want to be named, travelled from Norfolk to Luton in the early hours for the 6.40am flight to Split.
Croatia requires arrivals from the UK to present a negative Covid test result, even if they have been vaccinated. The easiest option is a rapid antigen (lateral flow) test, which produces results quickly and relatively cheaply.
EasyJet mentions a 48 hour time limit in its online guide, but does not specify whether it is relative to the flight leaving or touching down.
The airline’s online Covid hub simply tells British passengers : “Time window: Not older than 48 hours.”
The Croatian authorities, though, say it must be taken within 48 hours of arrival.
The mother and son had taken the required tests at 8.55am on Monday morning, within 48 hours of departure.
But the scheduled arrival time of the easyJet plane was 9.10am (British time) on Wednesday – exceeding the 48 hour window before arrival by 15 minutes.
The father, who had his test at a later time, continued with his journey to minimise the financial cost to the family.
A family member told The Independent: “I’ve travelled to Split myself recently and they only check before you fly.
“At the Croatia border, they don’t ask for the documents.
“I know that doesn’t make a difference – it’s just a very stressful situation.”
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “We know that flying is currently different to how many of our customers are used to travelling, which is why we are alerting customers to the importance of checking current local travel requirements ahead of their flight via email and on easyJet.com via our Covid help hub, where they can also find access to government website links and the most up-to-date travel information.
“Unfortunately, as these passengers were unable to provide test results in line with the criteria required by the Croatian authorities, they were unable to travel on this occasion.
“We do offer a rescue fare at the airport for customers who miss their flights so they can book the next available flight at a fixed fare which in most cases will be cheaper than buying a new ticket on the day. Our customer team are making contact with them to go through their options for re-booking.”
The cost for new flights alone will be £220.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments