Nothing surprises me with this government, or airlines, but I’m currently navigating through unhelpful website after unhelpful website and empathy lacking airline call centre after empathy lacking airline call centre. I can’t find anything that says what how you prove an outbound journey is for work. Any experts on this around here? Is it verbal at the gate? Do you need documentation?
Just make it up as you go along. Seems to work for the government. Hope that helps. Good luck btw fella.
I have a strong suspicion they haven't thought about that level of detail yet. Its such a stupid policy anyway - what if you were emigrtating or planning to go and live in your second home somewhere - you are now banned from doing so - thats just so far removed from acceptable its not right. They opened up travel to the Canaries which has covid rates less than 20% of ours but now people who booked to go cant because....? Can you just print yourself a letter on company headed paper confirming your meetings in various overseas clients? This is beyond medical control its population subjugation and its wrong
I’m currently creating Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D. One of the plans will be definitely be turning up at the airport and just saying I’m going there on business. Especially if there’s no government guidance on what you need to take with you. This government seem intent on destroying everything. A ban on outbound travel offers almost zero benefit in terms of offsetting the damage it’s going to do to jobs and people unable to get refunds on flights
You might do well to get a document from your employer to state you are conducting research or something to that effect. I'm not sure what immigration in US and Mexico will want to see. You may get asked a few questions this end upon your return, but it won't be a grilling. Not sure if any other UK government departments will be checking departures, at check in.
Well the day before I left for Spain on Friday I had an email from the airline saying I had to fill in the Passenger Locator form due to new regulations. When I got there they had no interest in it, just the usual health declaration form. It is definitely “make it up as you go along”, wherever you are travelling. I wonder if I’ll get a knock on my door from one of Boris’s storm troopers during the next few weeks, telling me I’m not supposed to be here!! I need to look up the Spanish for “kindly get orfff my land “.
Getting in to Switzerland, Mexico and the US will be fine. I’m convinced of that. I think. My issue is getting on the plane on Saturday, which I’m technically not allowed to do. I’ve tried to switch my flight to Zurich (where I then connect) to Wednesday, and then I’ll just ‘live’ in a hotel at the airport until Saturday. That flight is £52 currently. But for me to change mine they want to charge me £1,400. I’ve currently got a request in with the airline to have my London to Zurich flight cancelled so that I can then have it within my control to make my Saturday flight to Mexico. I don’t find out if that’s accepted for 24 hours. The likelihood is my London flight is cancelled and at that point they have to change it FOC or refund. Annoyingly, I’m happy to do that now so they can keep my money but they won’t play ball. There’s the option of just chancing it and saying I’m going for work. Or I book an extra/stupid flight on Wednesday to Mexico where I end up hanging around in a European Airport for 18 hours for a connection, but then I have to go in to battle with multiple airlines and hotels for the rest of my trip as I’ll be bringing it forward by 72 hours and there’s no guarantees it will all line up.
Nightmare! I am so glad I got out just in time and it was a completely stress free Ryanair experience to Alicante. No return booked. I’m flexible - could be a month, or I might stay the full 90 days that the rules permit. After that who knows....
Last time that's exactly what my employer did. They made up a letter for everyone explaining they were key workers and had to travel.
When I had to mate my employer provided me with a letter. Never needed it (I only needed to make a couple of journeys and was able to then work exclusively from home) but it was a bit of reassurance in case I was challenged.
Loko, just tell em you need the trip for medical reasons, to test your eyesight, it works most times, especially for those in power...
Last time around our place issued letters to all staff stating they were key workers and, for security reasons, were required to travel to work. I wasn't stopped, the road blocks were right outside my flat, but I could just turn left out of the drive and cut back down another road to avoid them, but many of our employees were.
We were given letters during the first lockdown to prove we were working in schools (that according to some were closed anyway)
ive got a letter from work. I was asked for it once last time by the police who accepted with no issues.
To add to that, the letter included a phone number the police could ring, the personnel department and ceo of the firm, if they needed clarification, and we were all instructed to keep our work ID badges with us at all times. As far as I know this was accepted in all instances, with only one call from the police for clarification.
I worried a bit about it as we weren’t given anything but I wasn’t ever stopped. I just make sure I have my work badge with me on a school day and my guide dog badge with me whenever the dog is in the car (the dogs all have an I.D tag which says guide dogs and its computer number anyway).