Our International Travel Experience During a Pandemic
Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary (in January 2022) in Hawaii. That went on the bucket list soon after we got married.
In this blog post, we’ll give you the lowdown on our experience travelling from the UK to the US - and within the US - and back during a global pandemic. We hope this will give you an idea of what it is like if you are planning to travel internationally in the current times.
Background Information
We’d decided that our route would be Edinburgh to LA (via London), then to Honolulu, then back to LA, then back to Edinburgh (via London) - a completely US trip. We would spend 6 nights near LA, 10 nights in Honolulu, and another 2 nights near LA before coming back to the UK.
When the beginning of 2021 rolled around, we weren’t sure if we would make it to the US by January 2022. If we remember correctly, the US had banned flights coming from the UK and EU countries, among others. However, the trip was still far enough away that there was still a chance, so in February 2021, we decided to book our flights to LA, and in May 2021, we did the same for Honolulu.
In early November 2021, it was announced that the US was lifting its ban on flights coming from the UK and EU countries. Hooray! We felt like we were halfway there, but we also knew that there was still just under 2 months for things to go sideways once again.
Sure enough, Omicron decided to rear its head and there remained some uncertainty about whether restrictions would pop up again, but in the end, no new restrictions came about and our entire trip went the smoothest it could possibly go.
Our US Entry Requirements
Below we’ll list our entry requirements for when we flew from the UK to the US in late December 2021.
Note: Of course, the entry requirements were according to our own scenario and are only specific to Covid-19, not general entry requirements. If you are planning to travel to the US, keep up-to-date on the latest entry requirements and guidance from the CDC website.
Fully vaccinated (14 days after our second dose of an accepted 2-dose series)
Negative Covid-19 rapid antigen test no more than 1 day before our first flight - this test can also be referred to as a lateral flow test and is the quick test where you can receive your result in 15-30 minutes
Complete the checklist on the VeriFLY app (to speed up the check-in process at the airport)
Fill in the Los Angeles Traveler Form
For the Covid-19 rapid antigen test, we booked walk-through appointments at ExpressTest, located at Edinburgh Airport (although they are found throughout the UK). Since our first flight was around 08.30, we did our tests the day before and it was a quick and simple process. We just needed to bring our passports and QR codes from ExpressTest, someone came to take the swabs, and we received our results in about 30 minutes. The results came in the form of an email with a link to download a PDF that we could either print out or save to our phones.
To allow for a smoother check-in process, several airlines partner with the app VeriFLY so that you can submit your Covid-19 travel documents. This is actually required if you wish to check-in online. It was straightforward enough to follow the steps on the app, but we will highlight an issue that can arise with middle names. Arek has a middle name, but it is not always listed on all documents, so the app, which didn’t have his middle name, rejected his Scottish vaccination app QR code because it did have his middle name, so we ended up using his physical Scottish vaccination certificate because it didn’t have his middle name. It was all a bit silly and I don’t doubt that other people with middle names have run into the same issue.
The last item that we needed to check off our list before actually flying was to fill in the Los Angeles Traveler Form, which is just a simple online form where you fill in your personal details and tick a box saying that you understand and will abide by the CDC’s travel guidance.
Our Flights to the US
We’ll start this section off by saying that all of the airports we went to (Edinburgh, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, and Honolulu) and airlines we flew with (British Airways and American Airlines) required face coverings to be worn inside all terminals and buildings as well as for the duration of each flight, aside from when eating or drinking.
Although the first leg of our trip to LA was to London (so a domestic flight), we arrived at Edinburgh Airport 3 hours ahead of time anyway to check our bags and ensure there was plenty of time to get through security and eat breakfast.
On our flight to London, we were supplied with a bottle of water and a snack each and the plane was pretty full. It was a quick 1-hour flight so there really is nothing exciting to report. When we left the plane, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we didn’t have to go through security again! We guess this is because we had arrived at and were going to depart from Terminal 5 at London Heathrow.
On our flight to LA, we had proper meals at the beginning and end of the flight as well as snacks in between. The plane was quite full but not at maximum capacity. Aside from the wearing of face coverings, it felt like any other flight.
Be sure to check out our YouTube video featuring Southern California!
Our Hawaii Entry Requirements
Because a big chunk of our US trip was on the island of Oahu, we also flew from LA to Honolulu. Although we flew internationally to the US, we were treated as domestic travellers for this portion since the flights originated and ended in the US.
Hawaii has their own requirements for domestic travellers, so we’ll list our entry requirements for when we flew there in early January 2022.
Note: Again, the entry requirements were according to our own scenario and are only specific to Covid-19, not general entry requirements. If you are planning to travel to any of the Hawaiian islands, keep up-to-date on the latest entry requirements and guidance from the Go Hawaii website.
Register with Hawaii Safe Travels
Proof of being fully vaccinated (14 days after our second dose of an accepted 2-dose series)
Complete the online health questionnaire on Safe Travels within 24 hours of departing for Hawaii
Get pre-clearance at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Hawaii Safe Travels is a website (not an app) where we each filled in our personal information as well as uploaded our vaccination certificates. Then, within 24 hours of departing for Hawaii, we went back to the website and filled in the online health questionnaire. We were then each emailed a QR code which showed that we were good to travel.
We also had the option of getting pre-clearance, which is offered at a few US airports. This basically meant that we wouldn’t have to do any checks when we arrived in Hawaii. LAX is one of the few airports that offers pre-clearance and we just had to approach a specified gate (42B at the time of our travels) to show all of our Covid-19 documents and we each received a wristband. We showed our wristbands to the staff at Honolulu Airport and this allowed us to simply leave the airport after picking up our bags.
We’ll add a note here to say that while there weren’t any California entry requirements from domestic travel (hence no section dedicated to it), we did fill in the Los Angeles Traveler Form once again before we departed Hawaii.
Our Flights Within the US
We’re not sure if this is the case for all domestic flights or all US airlines, but on our 5.5-6-hour-long flights to and from Honolulu, we were only provided with a bottle of water and a snack each. We didn’t have the option to purchase any food or drinks either. Thankfully, we had read about this beforehand so we made sure we ate before the flights and brought snacks with us as well.
In terms of getting a view from the plane, it seems like the general rule is that if you want a view of Honolulu, you should sit on the right side of the plane when going there and the left side of the plane when leaving.
We also have a YouTube video featuring Oahu!
Proving Our Vaccination Status in the US
For the Lakers game that we attended and in various restaurants in LA and Honolulu, we were asked to show our vaccination certificates and IDs. We showed at different times either our physical Scottish vaccination certificates or photos of them and our Canadian/Polish passports or our UK driving licenses and everything was always accepted without any issues.
One tip we can give is to take a photo of your vaccination certificate next to your passport and keep it on your phone in case you forget to bring your vaccination certificate or ID with you.
Our UK Entry Requirements
Below we’ll list our entry requirements as fully vaccinated travellers when we flew back to the UK from the US in January 2022.
Note: Like earlier in this post, the entry requirements were according to our own scenario and are only specific to Covid-19, not general entry requirements. If you are planning to travel to the UK, keep up-to-date on the latest entry requirements and guidance from the UK Government website. Keep in mind that there are different rules for the four nations of the UK: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Fill in a UK passenger locator form (one per person) within 48 hours of arriving in the UK
Have day 2 Covid-19 rapid antigen test booked with reference number to use on the passenger locator form
Complete the checklist on the VeriFLY app (to speed up the check-in process at the airport)
Some of the UK entry requirements actually changed while we were in the middle of our trip. Originally, we were required to have a pre-flight negative Covid-19 rapid antigen test no more than 2 days before our first flight, have a day 2 Covid-19 PCR test after getting back to the UK, and self-isolate until the test results arrive. They decided to get rid of the pre-flight test requirement and the day 2 test could be a rapid antigen test instead of only a PCR test. As well, they got rid of the need to self-isolate until the test results arrive. This made it much easier for us!
We had originally purchased pre-flight Covid-19 rapid antigen tests from C19 and took them with us to take while in the US as it would’ve been cheaper than paying an arm and a leg for tests in LA. After the change in UK entry requirements, we were thankfully able to switch the tests from being pre-flight tests to day 2 tests. This generated different reference numbers for us to be able to use on the passenger locator forms.
And similarly to our flights to the US, we completed the checklist on the VeriFLY app before checking in online. Something interesting we noticed this time around was that while the app said that we only needed to add the last flight if we were on connecting flights, British Airways didn’t actually allow us to check-in online unless we added both flights to the app!
Our Flights to the UK
We arrived to LAX 3 hours before our flight to London again to ensure there was plenty of time to check our bags, go through security, and eat something before our flight. The best part of this flight was that our section at the back of the plane was so empty! There were around 20 people in our section so everyone was free to choose their own 3 seats to sleep on during the flight. We spent most of the 10.5 hours lying down. Upon arriving at London Heathrow, we did have to go through security again this time.
On our final flight back to Edinburgh, we were given a bottle of water and a snack each. The flight was almost completely full, but after a 10.5-hour flight across the Atlantic, a final 1-hour flight felt like nothing.
How Safe We Felt and Final Thoughts
Here in the UK, all residents can be sent free rapid antigen test kits upon request, so we brought a few kits with us to test periodically during our trip. After 6 flights, a stadium-filled Lakers game, and a few other excursions where we were around other people, neither of us tested positive once.
Perhaps it was just our luck, but perhaps it also has something to do with the fact that because we’ve deemed travel to be this now ‘dangerous’ activity, we do everything we can to minimise our chances of catching Covid. In that respect, our guard is always up and maybe that’s what makes travelling now actually a little bit safer.
All in all, we felt incredibly safe throughout, we had a wonderful time, and we are so grateful that we were able to fulfil our 5th wedding anniversary dream.
Do you have any questions about travelling internationally during a global pandemic? Let us know in the comments!
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