Councillors urge local community not to travel for non-essential reasons

Local councillors are urging people, particularly from the BAME community, not to travel for holidays or social purposes.

Councillor Aasim Rashid, of Castleton ward, and Councillor Shakil Ahmed, of Kingsway Ward, both attended a meeting last month at Manchester Airport alongside the Consul General of Pakistan, Superintendent Chris Allsop, and councillors from other Greater Manchester boroughs.

Councillor Rashid said: “According to Manchester Airport data, the highest number of travellers at present are to Islamabad. During the pandemic, especially lockdown, only essential travel is allowed. Any travelling to attend weddings, social and leisure purposes is totally illegal.”

Councillor Rashid also said that, currently, only those who hold dual nationality with Pakistan – who have a Pakistani ID card and a Pakistani passport – are allowed to travel to the country in case of emergency.

He added: “If you travel abroad and miss your second injection appointment, this can damage the Covid vaccination programme. We need to all work together to fight Covid. Everyone should attend their vaccine appointment which is the only hope to return back to normal life.”

Councillor Rashid, who is also deputy mayor of Rochdale, told how he had cancelled his family trip to Pakistan in January, which was booked before the national lockdown.

He explained: “The purpose of the trip was to see my 80-year-old dad, who I haven’t seen in more than two years. He was supposed to visit me in Rochdale last year in April and also attend my mayoral ceremony which was postponed due to the pandemic.”

Councillor Ahmed has advised that those who do need to fly, avoid using online travel agents to book flight-only deals as it can be more complicated to get a refund.

He said: “Like literally millions of people I have had severe problems in getting a refund for flights which were booked and then cancelled as a result of the Covid crisis. In my case I looked for my flights on a comparison site and made my booking with a company I had not dealt with before but who, at the time of my booking, had generally good reviews.

“Unfortunately, like many other companies, when my flights were cancelled by the airline, the travel agent failed very badly to deal with refunding me. I booked my flights in early January 2020 for travel in March 2020.  It took until December and countless emails and telephone calls, including a letter from my member of Parliament, to finally get a refund and even then ‘administration charges’ were deducted. The airline was not helpful, just informed me that the travel agent must instigate the refund request.”

Councillor Ahmed continued: “My advice now is to avoid using online travel agents to book flight-only deals as they often add further charges on top and if there are cancellations, booking with an online travel agent can also make it much more complicated to get a refund. While the airline is still legally responsible, they will often try to insist you claim through the agent and customers can be stuck in the middle as I was.

“Often you will be offered vouchers rather than a refund but do be aware that companies are under severe pressure and there are bound to be failures so there is a risk that your company might fail before you can use it, so ask for a cash refund.”

Pay by credit card if you can as it gives you greater protection even though if you paid direct from your bank you can ask for a chargeback.

More information about Coronavirus travel rights is available via MoneySavingExpert.

The councillors’ advice comes as police have issued around 160 fixed penalty notices for breaches of Covid regulations at Manchester Airport.

Police say large groups of people are dropping family members off and coming in to the departures terminal, which under the current regulations is not allowed.

Chief Inspector Andy Sutcliffe at Manchester Airport said: "Traditionally people arrive at the airport to wish loved ones and family members a safe flight and to wave them off. Unfortunately at the moment this is not possible due to Covid-19 and the regulations that the Government has put in place.

"We are trying to minimise the number of people in the departures terminal and this is not possible when people who are not travelling enter the area. It's risking the health of everyone in the terminal including my officers who have to actively engage with them to question why they are there.

"Only people who are travelling on a pre-booked flight should be in the terminal and they should be dropped off by one person from their household or bubble or by public transport. We are patrolling in-line with Government regulations and will do all we can to reduce the spread of the virus and protect the legitimate users of the airport."

Please ensure that you have a valid reason for travel, under the exemptions. Legally, you will have to notify the airlines of the reason for your journey from Monday 8 March.

Officers will be on patrol to engage with people in an effort to keep others safe. You may be stopped and questioned if they suspect you are not there to travel and a fine may be issued.

The stay at home messaging remains the same and you must only travel if it is essential.

If you are travelling and need to be dropped off at the airport, this should be done by one family member either in your household or in your bubble. If this is not possible a taxi or public transport is the best method of travel to prevent large groups gathering inside the terminal.

Do:

• Nominate one driver from your household or bubble to drop you off at the airport
• Arrange to travel by taxi or public transport if you can't be driven by one person
• Only enter the terminal if you are travelling

Don't:

• Bring people who are not travelling in to the terminal - having more people in there than needed is risking the health of others
• Travel unless it is essential - the Covid regulations remain in place