Advice for International Travel Under Covid (Edge Cases)

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typical.investor
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Advice for International Travel Under Covid (Edge Cases)

Post by typical.investor »

Having incorrectly been denied boarding several times when trying to fly internationally under changing covid requirements (despite having legitimate and complete documentation to do so), I believe I have figured out how to avoid the situation.

Call the airline with your flight number at the final point of transit (i.e. airport where you will be boarding the International flight) the DAY BEFORE the flight and tell them the circumstances. At that time, the airline will know the name of the gate agent who will be making the boarding decision and can contact that person directly with your details giving them time to confirm the situation.

I recommend this for things like 1) trying to enter the US with COVID vaccination records that are official but may not be recognized by the airline (in my case the CDC and US Gov recognized the legitimacy of a foreign government's certification of vaccination but the airline thought it should be in another form) or 2) entering a country under special permission (such as humanitarian grounds to enter in COVID when others are barred) where the airline might just not be familiar with what is legitimate approval by immigration in the country being entered.

Obviously, calling in advance of case seems wise, which we always did, but the trick seems to be doing it when the airline knows who will actually be at the gate. Having an airline representative and immigration official you over the phone (or even stamp in your passport as permission granted to return) may not be enough to sway the gate agent if they haven't had time to verify the details. The information has to reach the gate agent in charge of your flight in advance.

Can't guarantee it will work though. If you know of a better strategy, please do tell!
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