Heathrow Passengers in SHOCK after facing NO QUEUES and smooth travel

London Heathrow Passengers on Tuesday were alarmed after travelling through the UK’s largest airport and experienced nothing but short queues, friendly gate agents and no inconvenience. 18 months after the UK media started their government sponsored terror campaign that effectively destroyed the travel industry, the scenes awaiting passengers travelling through Heathrow this week were unsettling.

Felicia Severns, owner of luxury tailor made travel specialist Odyssey World, was one of the passengers who arrived last week for her flight to Reykjavik. Despite ignoring advice from a woman she’d overheard in M&S who’d read something in the Daily Mail, she arrived at Heathrow 3 hours before her flight departure time as advised by the airline, fully prepared for the journey that lay ahead. After completing two forms at home and using the Heathrow Airport Express Test Covid testing service, she was furious that she now had ample time to relax and order a glass of champagne in the Departure Lounge. She said “I’d been preparing myself for weeks for the horrors that lay ahead . This is the fifth time I’ve travelled overseas during the pandemic and every trip has been annoyingly seamless. I just feel lost without having anything to complain about and if it continues to be this easy to travel, I’m just not sure I’ll do it again. “

      

After spending a spectacular week in Iceland on a self drive tailor made road trip exploring bubbling volcanoes, sparkling glaciers, gushing waterfalls, soothing hot springs and stellar accommodation throughout, it was time to travel again. “We had to do a Covid test in our room and upload it to a website, which made us 4 minutes late for dinner”, Severns seethed.  “And then my time scrolling through Tiktok videos was curtailed as I had to spend 5 minutes remembering how to write my name and copy numbers onto a Passenger Locator Form!” After arriving at Heathrow and using the e-gates to bypass Border Force agents, passengers were seen looking irritated and confused as they mindlessly watched luggage circulate the baggage carousel. When Heathrow baggage staff were asked what could have caused this delirium, they replied, “that’s not Covid, they always look like that in this room”.

Severns was warned by several government ministers and colleagues in the travel industry not to undertake her multistop European trip because it might be ‘a faff’. However, feeling confident in her ability to enter correct details on a form and stand in a queue without tweeting a photograph to Grant Shapps, she rearranged a previously planned visit to the US and decided to take back to back trips to Iceland followed by a week in Mallorca. Being in 24 hour transit between two trips meant a Day 2 test wasn’t required and travel continued unencumbered. Moving through four international airports was streamlined, quick, easy and pleasant and even a small error on a form was picked up and corrected without hassle. Travel Industry experts are expecting these improvements to continue and anyone considering an exciting winter escape book early to avoid further disappointment.

***

The above account is obviously a satirical commentary but the facts are real. Travel, for the most part is still a joy and most certainly worth the effort of a few forms and a quick swab up the nose. Despite the government confusion and media outrage, international travel is indeed possible, safe, easy and when you make it to your destination, absolutely worthwhile. Billions of people around the world rely on tourism and by continuing to venture out into the world, you collectively contribute to the health and wellbeing of so many grateful individuals and small businesses.

Odyssey World, like all tour operators and travel agents, have experienced 18 months of travel bookings thrown into disarray. As a long haul specialist where most destinations have been effectively red-listed or deemed illegal to visit since March 2020, only a handful of our UK resident clients have completed their international trips. However, maintaining the same close relationships with responsible tour operators throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America, we have been planning tailor made tours for non-UK residents. Clients from Israel, the US, Dubai and most of Europe are subject to less stringent travel rules and are therefore enjoying the delights of safaris in Kenya, cycling tours in Tanzania, beach retreats in the Caribbean and amazing Arabian adventures.   The world is very much open and revolving and we want to help you all be a part of it again soon. And now, with approaching relaxation of traffic light systems, testing and quarantine rules, now is the perfect time to plan your escape.   Odyssey World destinations like Sri Lanka, Kenya, Iceland, the Maldives, much of the Caribbean, Oman, Jordan, Dubai, Canada and the USA (from November 2021) are open for travel and we thoroughly recommend you take the plunge and venture somewhere new. It may seem like an unusual thing to travel right now, but please don’t doubt the benefits that are enjoyed in return.

If you’re in any doubt, contact Odyssey World or your local travel specialist and work with us to create your next adventure. Expert advice, guidance and up to date knowledge can help make your trip a more enjoyable experience. ATOL certification is there to protect you financially and most importantly, a conscientious travel operator is there to help you steer through any regulations and reap the rewards of an active, relaxing, romantic or intrepid adventure. New travel tales are waiting to be written and the world is waiting to welcome you. What are you waiting for?

Some genuine tips if you are travelling soon

Do your own research. The most reliable site (for UK travellers)is always www.gov.uk  and search for the country to which you’re travelling. Then double check this with the Tourism Website of your destination country and your airline. If the Entry requirement rules are complex, take a screen shot of the page on your phone in case you’re challenged at the airport. It helps any airline staff who may not be fully up to date with changing rules.  If in doubt, check with your travel operator.

Be prepared. Set yourself some time with your passport and travel details on hand to fill in the arrival forms, which are now necessary for most countries. Don’t rush!

Give yourself extra time at the airport. As organised as you may be, reduced staffing may mean longer queues in several contact points as deal with unique passenger problems. We would recommend a minimum of 3 hours if checking luggage, and 2 hours with carry on only.

Don’t get frustrated at systems and staff. This is a still a rapidly evolving situation and businesses and their employees are doing their best to adapt to the changing rules.

Print as many documents as possible. We’ve seen the most time wasted in queues with passengers juggling bags and fumbling with their mobiles phones trying to locate multiple documents. Printing all the bar codes makes it easier for airline staff to check you in quickly without handling your phone.

Check your insurance and FCDO advice. Many insurance policies will be invalid if travelling against FCDO advice. Although there is still a bit of a lag with updating FCDO advice to match the red/rest of word status, we expect this to catch up by mid October as new rules come into play. If your current policy isn’t suitable, there are still many providers that insure single trip against FCDO advice, like Big Cat and Battleface. Be sure to check any policy covers your individual needs and check any wording carefully.

Be Bold and Travel Better!  Most global research shows that with the hugely successful vaccination programme, the word is getting ready to exist alongside Covid an the appetite for travel is huge. Safety and sanitation measures are better than they’ve ever been. When you get to your destination, you’ll be amazed by how many different nationalities and cultures are there, all enjoying most of the things we all loved pre-pandemic. When you next choose to travel, we suggest you put the “why” above “where”. Consider what you really want out of life, how you want to learn from the world and seek a responsible tour operator like Odyssey World to create a more meaningful, flexible and enriched journey.