What happens with your ticket if you are denied boarding due to a temperature check? (EU)

11/7/2020 8:39:03 PM

I know you didn’t ask for this, but I’m going to do a frame challenge here and address the elephant in the room.

The Bulgarian government has posted multiple websites explaining the rules and regulations surrounding COVID in Bulgaria. These can be found at https://coronavirus.bg/ and https://www.mh.government.bg/bg/informaciya-za-grazhdani/informaciya-otnosno-noviya-koronavirus-2019-ncov/. While the latter site puts most of their information into Cyrillic-only PDF files with no Google Translate support (and as such doesn’t allow me to quickly browse and search it), the former site does not explicitly ban people from moving with a fever (personal note: probably because it should be obvious to not travel with COVID symptoms).

Sofia Airport, on the other hand, explicitly mentions as their first bullet point:

Do not go to the airport if you have the following symptoms: fever, cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell;

Burgas Airport and Varna Airport:

Do not travel if you think you are ill!

Plovdiv airport:

Complete the Notification of Health status from your airline
Don’t travel to the airport if you have been in any of the situation specified in the Notification of Health status

I cannot easily find this notification of health online, but it’s likely that it mentions having a fever as one of the situations specified.

In case it’s not obvious yet from these documents: most airports mention to not come to the airport if you are ill or have COVID symptoms.

11/5/2020 4:33:14 PM

Many airlines allows rebooking or refund of a ticked. They did this, to encourage passengers to book a flight on such period (where we never know about next lock-downs).

Note: airline websites have often the procedures on how to change/get refund in a prominent place, contrary to generalist booking website. Try there to get there information. In any case you should contact airline. Maybe try to avoid telling them about fever.

But you should check also what the local health authorities tell you about having fever. It may be illegal to go to airport with any kind of possible symptoms of CoVid, and this may be more expensive then the ticket.

11/6/2020 10:22:12 PM

The question is indirectly touched upon in EU regulation No 261/2004 (the main regulation on compensation for missed or cancelled flights):

(j) "denied boarding" means a refusal to carry passengers on a flight, although they have presented themselves for boarding under the conditions laid down in Article 3(2), except where there are reasonable grounds to deny them boarding, such as reasons of health, safety or security, or inadequate travel documentation;

In other words: Airlines are allowed to deny boarding for health reasons without engaging the rules defined in the regulation (refund, assistance, compensation). Technically, that doesn’t mean there isn’t another rule somewhere else but clearly the intent of the EU legislator was to preserve the airlines’ ability to deny boarding for health reasons. And if you are prevented from entering the airport by a third party, the airlines would simply consider you a “no-show“.

Two other things to note:

  • I don’t know about the situation in Bulgaria but it is often recommended not to use public transportation or even leave your home at all if you have mild flu or cold symptoms and do not know whether it’s Covid or not.
  • Many airlines and other transportation operators have enacted special rules to encourage people to book trips even when they are not sure they will be able to travel. It could be worth calling to see if they are prepared to make an exception to their usual terms and conditions.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts