Government publishes Covid-19 passenger charter

The charter reinforces some of the fundamentals of travel, and clarifies a number of questions travellers may have when navigating Covid-era travel. These include:

• If your flight, ferry, cruise or package holiday has been cancelled you have the legal right to a full refund
  
  
• You may not be entitled to a refund if any changes in restrictions or travel advice affect your travel plans but do not result in the provider cancelling the booking, but you should contact your provider to discuss amending travel dates or destinations as soon as possible. Travel providers should provide clear terms and conditions when booking
  
  
• Travel providers should share their standards and policy on keeping consumers safe. You must be prepared to have the right certifications, vaccines or exemptions for your destination
  
  
• Where appropriate, assistance should always be available according to your needs, and airports, ports and train terminals should give clear information about the processes for assistance with travel
  
  
• Your provider should make reasonable efforts to inform you where restrictions or changes will affect your plans
  
  
• Any personal and health information should only be shared or processed in line with specified purposes

"Travelling abroad this year will be different as a result of the pandemic, with longer queues expected at borders and strict testing requirements," said the Department for Transport (DfT).

The DfT also reiterated the importance of providing a completed passenger locator form and evidence of a negative pre-departure test before travelling back to the UK. People are advised not to travel to amber or red list destinations.

It comes as the government on Monday (17 May) lifted its ban on non-essential international travel, with several airlines and operators waving off green list package departures on Monday morning.

The government says it has simplified gov.uk information on testing, allowing people to use filters to search its list of providers of mandatory testing packages by the requirements for green, amber and red list, as well as other criteria – including cost.

Passengers are advised to sign up for Foreign Office travel advice updates for any destinations to which they are planning travel, and to monitor the advice to be sure of any changes in entry requirements or Covid-19 risks specific to a certain country.

The easing of restrictions on international travel will be reviewed on 28 June to take account of the Covid-19 situation in the UK and overseas.

As of Monday (17 May), those who have had both doses of their Covid-19 vaccine will be able to use the official NHS app to verify their Covid vaccination status. Those without app access can request a paper copy by calling 119. The app is not yet able to present test results.