Does the raised threat level in Northern Ireland mean extra checks for travellers?

Simon Calder answers your questions on security processes, renting cars for over-75s, and claiming for delays at the Port of Dover

Belfast at sunset: an increased threat level does not mean any material changes for tourists (iStock)

Q My son is travelling from Bristol to Belfast over the coronation weekend. He doesn’t have a passport. He is booked with easyJet, who currently don’t require a passport. With the terrorist restrictions being raised, do you think this might change?

Keri R

A The security service, MI5, decides the threat level from what it calls “Northern Irish-related terrorism in Northern Ireland”. (This cumbersome phrase is to distinguish it from the danger from more general terrorism, such as from the far right or Islamist groups.) Available intelligence, terrorist intentions and terrorist capabilities feed into the assessment.

On 28 March this year, the threat level for Northern Ireland was raised from “substantial” to “severe”. The difference between these two categories amounts to just one word. Substantial means “an attack is likely”. Severe means “an attack is highly likely”. The impending visit to Northern Ireland by Joe Biden on 11 and 12 April has heightened concerns that dissident groups could stage some sort of attack.

But an increased threat level does not mean any material changes in travel, either to or within Northern Ireland. MI5 explains: “Threat levels in themselves do not require specific responses from the public. They are a tool for security practitioners working across different sectors of the critical national infrastructure and the police to use in determining what protective security response may be required.”

To put the threat level in perspective, though: since MI5 started assessing the risk in 2010, the danger from “Northern Irish-related terrorism in Northern Ireland” has been rated “severe” except for during one year, from March 2022, when it was lowered to “substantial”.

Yet even if the threat level were to be raised to “critical”, which means that “an attack is highly likely in the near future”, there is no possibility that travellers between constituent nations of the UK would be required to have a passport. While easyJet and other airlines demand some form of identification on domestic flights, this can include a driving licence (provisional or full) or a passport that has expired in the past five years.

Strict rules apply for younger drivers but things are more relaxed at the other end of the spectrum (Getty)

Q I don’t own a car but I frequently rent them. I have just celebrated my 70th birthday and was interested to hear of calls for 85-year-olds to be retested because of the increased risks they have.

It made me wonder: what are the upper age rules for renting cars? I know that there are strict rules for younger drivers. Does the same apply to older motorists?

Michael W

A As you say, most car-rental companies look very closely at younger drivers. Generally, the lower age limit is 21, and all the way through the twenties there may be extra charges and/or restrictions about the kind of car that can be rented. For example, Hertz will not rent a Jaguar F-type or Audi R8 Spider to anyone under 30.

The rules are more relaxed in North America; in New York State, drivers aged 18-20 can rent, but Avis charges an $84-per-day (£68) fee for the privilege.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the rules are much more relaxed. The general view among rental companies seems to be that if you are legally permitted to drive, they are happy to rent a car to you. But things may get slightly more complicated once you reach 75.

Zipcar, which rents cars by the hour, insists that customers aged 75 or over have held a licence for at least two years and have no more than three penalty points. Avis in the UK says: “There is currently no age maximum, so long as you have had a full, valid, licence for at least one year.” It does add, though, that “some additional steps may be required for those who are over the age of 75”.

Europcar has an odd policy: “In the UK there is no maximum upper age limit, with the exception of the following stations: Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton and York, where the maximum age is 75 years old.”

The first weekend in April saw the port in Kent beset by processing hold-ups (PA)

Q Can I claim for the coach delay last weekend at Dover? If so, who do I claim from?

Tony A

A Tens of thousands of coach passengers were delayed for many hours at the Port of Dover last weekend, as they waited to be processed through French formalities. Delays started building on the Friday afternoon, and were not cleared until the early hours of Monday morning.

Many of those who experienced very long waits were schoolchildren on their first trip abroad since the Covid pandemic. The port’s chief executive, Doug Bannister, apologised for “the disruption for the schoolkids and the anxious parents at home”. University groups, sports teams, and passengers on scheduled coaches were also affected.

If you were delayed on a UK bus chartered privately by a group, there is no prospect of compensation. Were you, though, on a scheduled service on a long enough route, then European long-distance coach passengers’ rights rules prevail. They apply to EU operators and British coach firms alike; they were copied and pasted into UK law after Brexit.

“Long-distance” is defined as the overall length of the bus route being 250km (just over 155 miles) or more – regardless of how long your chunk was. For example, a London-Boulogne trip of perhaps 180km would qualify if the coach was continuing to Paris, which is 220km further.

For delays of over two hours in departure, you get a refund of half your fare – but only if the bus was late leaving. If the vehicle set off on time but you then spent many hours in a coach park in Kent rather than on holiday, the compensation rule does not apply.

European air passengers’ rights rules are highly consumer-centric – some would say overly favourable to the traveller – and focus on the delay in arrival, which is far more relevant. But bus rights are far less generous, as many thousands of people have found to their cost.

One final possibility: if you were on a package trip, with coach and accommodation booked together in a single transaction, then you may be able to claim for the loss of part of your holiday. I imagine, though, that the travel firm would put up quite a battle.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder