score:5
I'm still unable to get in touch with BA, even though I've been trying and trying and trying... However trawling the net for any useful info, I came across this twitter chat where BA seems to be explicitly acknowledging that VeriFly app is optional.
If you don't use VeriFly, you won't be able to check in online, however you'd still be able to check in at the airport.
Just found this on BA site when checking my booking:
So, not mandatory.
UPDATE AFTER FLIGH: I flew yesterday with no problem. The VerifyFly app is optional.
Terminal 5 was a royal mess, but the "fast track" queue for those who used verifly app was clearly signposted. Incidentally, it had about as many people as those without the app. All queues were very long and it took absolute ages for the check in agents to process each passenger. I arrived in the airport about 3.5 hours prior to departure. I took just over 2 hours to get my boarding pass and another about 45 minutes to get through the security, so I was inside about 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure (which funnily enough was delayed by an hour due to the team taking longer to clean and sanitise the aircraft, according to the announcement).
Upvote:6
I have made the trip a few times during covid and confirm that VeriFLY was NOT necessary. The airports both ends wanted to see the print out of the testing certificates with all the necessary information. We offered the VeriFLY and they still wanted to see the print out certificates. There was some noise about a special queue for those with VeriFLY but we couldnβt find this.