Do you think travel will be less hassle in 2022?

Lola Baron

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Hope nobody minds if I start a new thread for the new year with a slightly different emphasis. I think asking if travel will be "safe" is probably not really relevant now, we have managed to get two holidays abroad since March 2020 and we've felt safe enough, but the hassle involved due to covid goes on - but for how long?

What will be dropped first?

Pre return LFT tests
Day 2 testing
Testing before travel to certain countries
Passenger locator forms
Face masks on planes

It seems to me that people who are not particularly computer literate, and those who don't have a smartphone, are at a disadvantage at the moment when it comes to foreign travel. Which is sad if, for instance, such a person is quite elderly but feels that they have a few years of foreign travel left in them.

Opinions please.
 
One half of my parents fall into the old category and they haven’t travelled for over 18 months. Just too much hassle for them.

They’re bitterly disappointed that the government has constantly lied and deceived them, re overseas travel. They only moved to the UK a little over a decade ago and are now talking about emigrating again with the current government looking more like a Communist regime (from which they have some experience of back in the 80’s)

I personally see very little hope. The government has shown quite clealy that it has no interest in jobs that depend on overseas travel.

They’d rather the masses holiday at Skeggy and Butlins forever more. Leaving foreign travel to the rich.

It’s about the ££££ (and the numbers are truly staggering - tens of billions a year if they keep most of us here instead of overseas) and Control now. Not health.

If we get a Conservative leader next year then maybe, just maybe there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Hell even the Lib Dems would be better.

All restrictions should be dropped. Irrespective of vax/non vax/covid pass etc etc. No scientific justification for it Whatsoever. By all means get airports to scan/check some travellers (fairly impractical though) with quick tests etc. Hell make travel insurance 100% mandatory, irrspective of where one goes.

Edit. Testing before travel to maybe go first. Lot of money being made with all these testing companies that are connected with many an MP, so I can’t see an end to all testing as its a money spinner.
 
Well I have just had a negative LFT test so I can get back home from Spain 😄
£50 for the LFT test and the PCR test. Easily saved on the price of the cheaper holidays at the moment
 
Well my wife and I are off to St Lucia tomorrow for two weeks 🙂

I won't pretend it hasn't been a stressful run up though. First of all wondering if we would end up being in lockdown and unable to travel. Then St Lucia require a negative PCR within 5 days of travel so we got those done on New Year's Eve. Thankfully negative but it was an anxious time waiting for the results. Then we had to fill in forms online, including uploading the PCR results, and wait for the St Lucia tourist office to send us authorisation to travel. Which we did on Saturday, but of course they don't work weekends so we haven't had their reply yet! Fortunately today isn't a bank holiday in St Lucia, so they should be working. But they're 4 hours behind us so when they open at 9am it will be 1pm here. Squeaky bum time until I have that e mail!

It will be worth it when we get there though.
 
Still booked for Florida for February half-term and we're reasonably confident we're going to go.

All triple jabbed.

Been holding off booking Disney tickets though.

Hoping that if the USA were going to throw a spanner in the works they would have done by now.

I'm not too bothered about what the UK does. If they make it difficult to return to the UK / work because of isolation or whatever I'll just ask to WFH or take the time unpaid leave.
 
Hope nobody minds if I start a new thread for the new year with a slightly different emphasis. I think asking if travel will be "safe" is probably not really relevant now, we have managed to get two holidays abroad since March 2020 and we've felt safe enough, but the hassle involved due to covid goes on - but for how long?

What will be dropped first?

Pre return LFT tests
Day 2 testing
Testing before travel to certain countries
Passenger locator forms
Face masks on planes

It seems to me that people who are not particularly computer literate, and those who don't have a smartphone, are at a disadvantage at the moment when it comes to foreign travel. Which is sad if, for instance, such a person is quite elderly but feels that they have a few years of foreign travel left in them.

Opinions please.
Unless someone has a crystal ball, no-one can say for certain what will/won't happen wrt covid protocols when travelling. Its best just to accept whatever's in place at the time of travel and stop stressing out too much....
 
Hope nobody minds if I start a new thread for the new year with a slightly different emphasis. I think asking if travel will be "safe" is probably not really relevant now, we have managed to get two holidays abroad since March 2020 and we've felt safe enough, but the hassle involved due to covid goes on - but for how long?

What will be dropped first?

Pre return LFT tests
Day 2 testing
Testing before travel to certain countries
Passenger locator forms
Face masks on planes

It seems to me that people who are not particularly computer literate, and those who don't have a smartphone, are at a disadvantage at the moment when it comes to foreign travel. Which is sad if, for instance, such a person is quite elderly but feels that they have a few years of foreign travel left in them.

Opinions please.

The one thing that's caused me so much grief is the Pre-Travel testing, especially when the US reduced theirs to one day before flight. If you haven't got enough to think about now, getting a test on the day before definitely adds to the stress.

So I'd be happy if we could get rid of the pre-flight testing that would probably get rid of most hassle and also removes some of the spontaneity.

Last October we flew to Dublin for a weekend, something that we only decided to do on the Thursday. Now we'd have to arrange for an Antigen test that day and make sure that it was within 24hrs of the flight to Dublin

At least with Germany we don't need to source another test for return.

At the moment we're just doing Citybreaks that can be driven to
 
Bit stressful today, our travel authorisations for St Lucia didn't arrive until 5pm and when they did they said we weren't allowed to leave the hotel (except on an excursion) for 14 days. We were under the impression that fully vaccinated travellers were allowed to go anywhere freely. I tried to phone them but the number didn't work, so I tried to phone Tui but they'd closed at 5pm because it's a bank holiday. So I e mailed St Lucia and eventually they replied saying that it's a general form sent to every tourist and we'll be given a wristband on arrival to prove we're vaccinated. Talk about causing unnecessary stress! I now need a holiday to recover from jumping through all the hoops.
 
It looks as though the pre departure tests to return to the UK will be the first to be dropped. I’m hoping to get over to Andalusia for the whole of February even though in Spain they have a rather silly requirement to wear masks out of doors at present. I also have a cruise booked that’s been pushed back three or four times since 2020. Not sure that will happen. I’m not booking anything else till the situation is clearer. But I’ve been away five times during the pandemic in between the restrictions and only once have I felt it wasn’t worth the hassle.
 
We have made it to St Lucia 😁

We too have a cruise booked for June. Hoping by then that omicron has turned out to be the minor cold that we all hoped for, and has taken over as the dominant form of cocid 19.
 
Good news that we are just back to a lateral flow on day 2 as it removes the quarantine element. You can do a lateral flow as soon as you land and it’s job done.
 
Good news...but if travelling you just have to be prepared that the rules could change again, and certain airlines still require a PCR test for travelling, such as Ethiad.
 
If I'm flying back on Saturday do I just need a LFT then? If so, does that need to be booked prior to go on the PLF or does the PLF no longer need to be done? Confusing.
 
If I'm flying back on Saturday do I just need a LFT then? If so, does that need to be booked prior to go on the PLF or does the PLF no longer need to be done? Confusing.
As far as I am aware, still needs to be booked and still goes on the PLF, don't believe that has changed.
 
As far as I am aware, still needs to be booked and still goes on the PLF, don't believe that has changed.
Not very clear is it.

By looks of it I still need a day 2 PCR as I arrive before Sunday 4am. I obviously carry alot more of the virus in with me if arriving before that Sunday 4am 🤣🤣 why not just do everyone from Friday 4am.

Before I buy any tests I'll see if my previous code works on the PLF 🤣🤣 given no one bothers to check them
 
Not very clear is it.

By looks of it I still need a day 2 PCR as I arrive before Sunday 4am. I obviously carry alot more of the virus in with me if arriving before that Sunday 4am 🤣🤣 why not just do everyone from Friday 4am.

Before I buy any tests I'll see if my previous code works on the PLF 🤣🤣 given no one bothers to check them
At a guess Day 2 would be Sunday at 4am, so think a LFT would be fine.
 
So I've wasted £44 on two lateral flow tests. I think I'll hang on to them in case the rules change again. They don't expire until well onto 2023.

Presumably as I've paid for two PCRs and got the reference numbers, they will still be acceptable for the PLF?
 
So I've wasted £44 on two lateral flow tests. I think I'll hang on to them in case the rules change again. They don't expire until well onto 2023.

Presumably as I've paid for two PCRs and got the reference numbers, they will still be acceptable for the PLF?
PCR will still be acceptable.
 
At a guess Day 2 would be Sunday at 4am, so think a LFT would be fine.
TBF expert medicals are doing PCRs for £20. Don't see many LFTs knocking about for that price so if I have to I'll grab them. Not arsed if they don't turn up, I have plenty of LFTs at home and it's simply to obtain a Ref for PLF.
 
The scrapping of pre-flight tests back to the UK is a big change.

Yes the faff of doing test before you leave and after you are home is a pain, but they are relatively small expense. The cost of testing positive in a foreign country, not being able to fly and having to isolate could potentially be huge.
 
TBF expert medicals are doing PCRs for £20. Don't see many LFTs knocking about for that price so if I have to I'll grab them. Not arsed if they don't turn up, I have plenty of LFTs at home and it's simply to obtain a Ref for PLF.
Simplytestme do LFTs for £12.
 

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