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Jayne Nicholls, 55, and Alexander Doory say they were not allowed to board their flight to Naples from Luton Airport this week due to an “unclear” ruling by the airline. The couple, from Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, were told on Monday that their Fit to Fly Covid test result would not be accepted due to test result being “out of time”.
Ms Nicholls told LeicestershireLive: “We had our Fit to Fly test at 8.02am at Colington’s at East Midlands. They asked us where we were going and where we were flying so we thought we were sorted.
“But when we got to the gate, we saw a young lad before us getting turned away. He looked really panicky, but he could only speak Italian so we couldn’t find out what was wrong.”
The couple were then told that the ruling meant that the test result had to be valid for 48 hours before they landed in Italy – not 48 hours before their departure time.
The flight was scheduled for 6.10am and was due to land 8.40am UK time, meaning the duo were 40 minutes shy of meeting the policy requirements.
Ms Nicholls said: “The whole thing was really confusing. It should be called “fit-to-land”. It wasn’t logical or fair and that’s the worst thing.
“We lost money for airport car parking, flights, plus we had to purchase new flights, new Covid tests and new airport parking.
“There weren’t any apologies, we weren’t allowed to ask questions, and there wasn’t anyone that would help us.”
The airline said the requirement was put in place by the Italian government and customers are asked to research Covid-related restrictions for destination countries prior to their flights.
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A spokesman for EasyJet said: “For passengers travelling from the UK the Italian authorities require a negative Covid test result to have been taken within 48 hours of arrival, which unfortunately the passengers didn’t have.
“Like all airlines, EasyJet is required to comply with the requirements of the local authorities in all destinations where we operate.
“We always remind customers that it is their responsibility to ensure they meet entry requirements and will continue to advise them to check the local Government requirements prior to departure.”
Customers can check current local travel requirements ahead of their flight on EasyJet.com via the Covid-19 Help Hub, where they can also find access to government website links and the most up to date travel information.
Additional reporting by Shannen Headley.
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