MAJOR airlines are providing incorrect information on Covid testing requirements that could lead to passengers being turned away from their flight, according to new research.
A mystery shopping exercise that involved contacting five of the UK’s major airlines – British Airways (BA), Easyjet, Jet2, Ryanair and Tui – to assess the accuracy of information they were giving passengers on testing requirements found that in nearly 50% of cases, incorrect and contradictory information was given over Covid rules.
The UK and devolved governments set the rules for testing requirements for passengers’ return to the UK, and foreign governments in other countries determine the rules for UK passengers’ arrivals.
Major UK airports, confirmed that it is up to airlines’ ground staff in UK airports to enforce these rules and decide if someone should be allowed on their flight.
The tests were carried out by researchers for the consumer organisation Which? posing as passengers trying to fly to mainland Portugal.
At the time of the research in June, passengers were required to take a test, regardless of previous infection or vaccination status.
Only PCR tests – not lateral flow tests – were accepted for entry to Portugal, and only children up to the age of two were exempt.
Which’s mystery shoppers were given incorrect or contradictory information in seven of the 15 calls.
In four of the calls – two with BA and two with Tui – agents provided information that the researchers said would have seen passengers turned away from their flight.
Only two agents – one from Jet2 and one from Tui – were able to answer all the questions correctly.
Six of the agents the mystery would-be passengers spoke to – two BA reps, two Easyjet reps, one Jet2 rep and one Ryanair rep – said they had never heard of lateral flow tests, despite these tests being a common travel testing requirement for some time and of the same type distributed…