A few days ago I was due to travel home to my wonderful family from the UK to Lanzarote. However, any hopes I had were dashed when an airline employee refused to allow me to board my plane on the grounds that I did not have a negative Covid test.
I am exempt under Spanish regulations from providing a negative test for the simple reason that I've just spent nearly six weeks on a ship, been tested several times and cannot reasonably have a test 72 hours before travelling.
Last time home it was fine: very smooth and I was tested on arrival in Lanzarote. They were polite and respectful. This time, the police were called, but not because I was in any way aggressive or loud; I was calm and collected.
So to help save lives I've now had to travel on a bus, a train and London Underground to get from Luton to Heathrow, submit to a test costing 79 quid and await another flight to Madrid. Then it's a packed minibus to and from hotel in Madrid and on to Lanzarote the following day. If I was in any way afraid of this virus I'd be catatonic with fear now.
I had plenty of time in Heathrow so I found an Iberia airline manager and discussed the Spanish regulations with him. He was perplexed and told me that indeed I was exempt and there would be no issue from them.
I think airlines need to educate their staff.
Capt Paul Kersey
More letters
Is my maritime pension performing as well as it should?
Nautilus answers a member's query about the now-closed MNOPF pension scheme.
Could Nautilus have done more for members' injured knees?
The Union has done great work over the years, and I was a liaison officer for a long time, but I feel that one big failure has not getting seafarers compensation for damage to their knees.
Are you being managed well? Please share your experiences in my study
I'm writing to ask fellow Nautilus members to give a few minutes of their time to help with my research.