UK Airports need to sort the mess and turmoil before the peak travelling season begins.

​Something we have been keeping a very close eye on this week is whether UK airports are prepared for the influx in passenger numbers and clearly some airports are not. I’ve read in the news recently of the huge queues at airports such as Manchester Airport, Heathrow. Clearly many of these airports seem to be understaffed, under resourced. 

During the pandemic a lot of the airports let go of key workers and as a consequence this has had an impact, especially now as they are struggling to employ people to fill in the vital roles such as border control, baggage handlers, check in agents. It really is having an impact, take Manchester Airport for example, people are queueing just to get through security, many people are missing their flights. People are abandoning their luggage because it’s taking forever for luggage to be offloaded.  

So what, as a US Travel passenger can you do to avoid the queues? I’m recommending that you arrive at the airport at the earliest possible time. If you are to check-in two hours before your flights consider arriving 3 to 4 hours prior, because a lot of the airlines simply cannot wait, they will depart without you. And this can be very frustrating and obviously costly, plus it’s going to impact into your travel time.  So please make sure you get to the airport with plenty of time. I experienced firsthand this week the delays at Manchester Airport; I was travelling to Barcelona and I arrived at the airport 3 hours before departure, I did manage to get through security and get to the gate within 15 minutes of my flight closing but remember I allowed myself 3 hours,  so make sure you get to the airport early. Also ensure do you have the correct and completed documentation in which for US Travel.  You want to avoid any possible delay because it will have a serious impact on your travel. 

Also consider purchasing fast track, I think it is essential in order to speed up the checking in process and to also get you through security a lot faster. It doesn’t cost much but it can be a life saver.

Personally I don’t think it’s the fault of the airline staff, they seem to be exhausted and clearly under resourced, but the situation is very much spiralling out of control. Every day the BBC News or Manchester Evening News are picking up on the story, or social media is covering the turmoil. It’s a sad, sad, state and clearly shows that our UK airports are not ready and prepared for return to travel. 

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The importance of travel insurance for your trip to the US

It’s very important that before any trip to the USA you have in place travel insurance.  One of the reasons was when the UK had in place its pre-departure test to ensure that you tested negative before arriving into the UK.  I took out travel insurance to safeguard me should my test be positive and I had to stay in the US. Obviously I would need insurance to cover accommodation and travel back to the United Kingdom. These costs clearly add up and travel insurance would help to offset the extra costs. 

However now that the pre-departure tests have been scrapped many people may think that they do not need travel insurance, however on the contrary, you would be wise to take out insurance.  Consider what would happen if, on the off chance, your luggage was lost, it does happen, thankfully not to me personally but you do hear of it. Also what happens if your flight is cancelled? How do you recover your costs? These are only a few of the reasons why I think it’s very important to take out travel insurance. 

However before you do dive in and buy travel insurance check out comparison websites to check out the costs, do not go for the cheapest, you need to ensure that the insurance you take out is thorough and covers all eventualities. Also make sure that you declare any illness that you have, no matter how minor otherwise it may well just invalidate your insurance you have to claim.  

Finally before  your travels make sure you print off your policy and emergency telephone number, bearing in mind that if you travel to the US you will need to call your insurance provider and they may be based in the UK therefore calls may well be costly  so enquire if they have a freephone number or a telephone for the US. However it is vital that you take your insurance documentation. I hope the above helps and I also hope you will not need to take advantage of travel insurance but it is better to be safe than sorry.