TUI & FCO Advice Conflict?

CountDrakma

What do others think of this?
TUI have a Quarantine - Free Holidays Promise: (quote) "We promise we'll only take you on quarantine-free holidays. This means we won't travel to places where we know you will need to quarantine when you arrive or when you return home. We promise we'll get in touch as soon as we can if your holiday can't go ahead due to COVID-19".

As I type the latest FCO Entry Requirements update 5.41pm 14/7/20 re Greece contains this:
Testing and quarantine on arrival
"When you arrive in Greece, the Greek authorities will scan your QR code and may require you to undergo testing for coronavirus, as part of health screening. The Greek authorities’ instructions will differ according to whether you arrive by land, sea or air. Check the requirements that will apply to you on the PLF form page.

Any passenger entering Greece may be asked to undergo a test, but you are more likely to be asked if you have arrived from a country outside of the EU (including the UK), either directly or via indirect flights.

If you live permanently within the EU, or have been in another EU country for some time before travelling on to Greece, you may be asked to prove that you have not recently travelled from or through the UK.

If you are required to take a test on arrival:

• you will then need to self-isolate at the address you gave on your Passenger Locator Form while you await the results of your test. Test results are expected to become available within 24 hours
• the Greek authorities will contact you to provide your test results and give further instructions (e.g. whether you are free to leave your accommodation, or must self-isolate for a longer period)
• if your test result is negative, you will no longer need to self-isolate
• if your test result is positive, the Greek authorities are likely to ask you to self-isolate for 14 days. Depending on the nature of your accommodation (e.g. whether you’re staying in a hotel, or in a private property like a house or villa), you may be required to move to government-provided accommodation. If you’re asked to move, the costs of transfer and your new accommodation will be paid by the Greek authorities

If you are not required to take a test on arrival, you will not be required to self-isolate.

You must comply with all instructions given by the Greek authorities. Failure to do so may result in you being refused permission to enter Greece and/or legal enforcement.

You should also be aware that if other passengers on your flight subsequently test positive, you may be subject to further quarantine/self isolation requirements. These will be mandatory and you should comply with the Greek authorities’ requirements".

TUI have emailed us to say our holiday to Rhodes is going ahead on 2nd September. We are going for just 7 nights. In ignorance of this FCO advice we were more than happy to go. However, now given the distinct possibility that at least one of us could be tested and therefore be obliged to self-isolate for at least 24 hours, or someone else causes us to self isolate do we have a case with TUI that they should not be sending UK citizens to Greece as there is a distinct possibility that testing and quarantining could happen? 

How do you interpret the statement ....."if you have arrived from a country outside of the EU (including the UK)"? Are they suggesting for this purpose the UK is - or isn't -outside of the EU?

What about the information above that "you may be asked to prove that you have not recently travelled from or through the UK?" Why would UK citizens potentially need to prove that? Does that statement add to the suspicion that UK citizens will be targeted for testing and quarantine?

Any thoughts/comments appreciated as our previous contentment at travelling is now undermined by TUI and the FCO Advice.

Pollycat

This has been discussed on the Greece board of Tripadvisor.

In answer to your question:

How do you interpret the statement ....."if you have arrived from a country outside of the EU (including the UK)"? Are they suggesting for this purpose the UK is - or isn't -outside of the EU?

I think they are classing UK as outside the EU.

I'm very suspicious of the TUI 'promise'.

TUI have a Quarantine - Free Holidays Promise: (quote) "We promise we'll only take you on quarantine-free holidays. This means we won't travel to places where we know you will need to quarantine when you arrive or when you return home.

I think they key phrase is "where we know you will need..."

If you are unlucky enough to be selected for testing on arrival and are positive, TUI could say 'well, we didn't know you'd be selected for testing and we didn't know you'd test positive...'

Some people on TA have contacted TUI for clarification about their 'promise'.

Most advisors they spoke to were unaware of Greece's policy on testing.

One poster asked this question:

Can I clarify that this is still the case even if it's not a blanket policy at the destination, but a possibility in the event of a random test - or even if someone else on the aircraft tests positive as has apparently happened on Crete over the weekend?

I know the risk of this happening is low, but it's not non-existent - and with nine of us travelling, including three children, it would be good to have this clarity.

Many thanks.

Hi

I can confirm that we are continuing to review things to ensure we can still operate safe and enjoyable holidays, and introduced our Holiday Promise: tui.co.uk/destinations/…our-holiday-promise.

You can be assured that, if your holiday’s going ahead, there won’t be any known significant changes.

So you can see that TUI did not answer the question at all.

Whether that's because the advisor didn't understand the question or because they were deliberately dodging the question...who knows...

That's my take on it anyway.

You may get responses with a totally different view.

CountDrakma

Morning Pollycat and thanks for all that. I’ll check out the Tripadvisor Forums. Looks to me like TUI are playing a bit fast and loose with peoples holidays and their own “promise”. Have to say I’m a little surprised that the likes of Martin Lewis and Simon Calder haven’t highlighted this issue - hopefully they will. I’ve tried to ring TUI several times but kept being cut off and their lines closed last night twenty minutes before 7!

sheramber

Things change rapidly due to infection numbers changing. The entry requirements  for September  could be very different to what they are currently.
UK is no no longer in th EU.  We left on  Brexit day , 31 January 2020,  and are now in a transitional period