Rush to catch flight, wrong name on booking, airport strikes

Got a question? Our expert, Simon Calder, can help

You may need to make a dash from Euston station to the Victoria line (Simon Calder)

Q Can I possibly leave the Birmingham NEC at 11am tomorrow and hope to catch a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Carcassonne at 2.10pm?

Shari R

A I hope so. Covering the 140-mile rail distance between the West Midlands exhibition centre and the Essex airport in time for the flight is feasible – but only just. You will need to carry only cabin baggage (there will not be time to check in luggage), organise your train ticket in advance and to hope the trains behave.

Take the 11.20am Virgin Trains departure from Birmingham International to London Euston, where it is due to arrive at 12.33pm (often I find they get there a couple of minutes early because some slack is built into the timetable).

On the train, move forward after Watford Junction to be first off the train in London. On arrival at Euston head for the Tube. From the Virgin Trains arrival platform to the Underground platform for the northbound Victoria Line should take no more than three minutes. It is now 12.36pm. Fortunately the Victoria Line has the London Underground’s highest frequency of any line, so you should not have to wait more than a minute or two for a train. The journey to Tottenham Hale should take 12 minutes at most, so let us assume you get there at 12.50pm.

You should be perfectly poised to walk up the escalators and on to the main line platform just as the 12.52pm Stansted Express pulls in. In my experience the airport trains are often a minute or two late at Tottenham Hale, which could work to your advantage. Walk along to the second carriage from the front, which will put you close to the lifts to departures.

All being well, you should arrive at Stansted’s subterranean station at 1.27pm. From the platform to the entrance to the security queue is five minutes, and in the middle of the day you should be through swiftly (having made absolutely sure you comply with the liquids rule). Even the furthest gate is only seven minutes swift walk from security – though if you end up at one of the “satellite” gates served by the shuttle train it is anyone’s guess.

If everything goes smoothly you can be at the gate at 1.40pm – Ryanair’s specified (but almost never enforced) deadline of half an hour before departure. In my experience the plane is likely not to be there yet, and so you might even have time for a drink. And if it doesn’t go smoothly and the train to London is a few minutes late? Catch the next Stansted Express and sprint through, asking people nicely if you can jump the security queue. While Ryanair stipulates 30 minutes, I generally observe them closing the gate 10 minutes before departure – or even less.

If you end up half-an-hour adrift, in theory you will have missed the flight. But don’t despair. In this tough summer for airlines, delays picked up during the morning often knock on to the afternoon. So a 20-minute delay would not be unusual. Do let me know what happens.

Atol certificates are a legal requirement but any spelling error would only be of concern if the airline went out of business (Getty/iStock)

Q I have made a holiday booking over the telephone with Lastminute.com. Everything went well until I paid my balance and received confirmation emails with flight, hotel details and an Atol certificate. Unfortunately, it showed they had spelt my Christian name incorrectly. I immediately called back and was told it would be investigated and they would get back to me within 72 hours. That was 12 days ago.

I have since made at least three more calls to Lastminute and get different people all the time, and have to repeat myself over and over. There is never a supervisor free to speak to, I have been promised several times that I will receive a call but nothing has happened. I did manage to get a number for the flight operator, Tui, and they have corrected the spelling error, however I still have the incorrect spelling on the Atol certificate and am concerned that Lastminute have made no effort to get back to me. I am a bit concerned that problems may arise at check-in. Can you advise me please?

Elizabeth H

A How infuriating. One of the advantages of booking with an online travel agent is that the chances of spelling errors are reduced, but this applies, of course, only when you book via the internet, not by phone. I presume the error was as minor as spelling your name “Elisabeth” with an s.

Anyway, since Lastminute.com does not seem to have put your mind at rest, please allow me to do so. The spelling of your name on the Atol certificate is of no relevance: while it is a legal requirement for flight and accommodation bookings, Tui, the airline involved, will not go out of business before your holiday. So from your point of view this is an unnecessary piece of paper that cost you £2.50. For that reason, it would not matter if it were in the name of Florence Nightingale or Meghan Markle.

While Lastminute.com need not have spelt out the reality quite like that, it should certainly have responded courteously and efficiently. Perhaps you might choose a different travel agent next time.

Heathrow airport could see logjams in security (Getty)

Q I am booked to fly out of Heathrow to Athens. I have not been told that my flight is cancelled. What do you suggest I do to make sure I travel, in particular how early should I arrive? Or should I book a flight with another airline from a different airport?

Philip B

A On Tuesday, thousands of workers at Heathrow airport, including security officers, firefighters and engineers, may stop work in a dispute over pay. The main problem is expected to be at the security search area. If travellers are delayed at security and arrive at the gate late, then the airline has to choose between keeping the plane on the ground – which will trigger problems later on in the day – or departing without some of the passengers on board, with all the problems that will create.

To minimise the wait, travellers are asked to take only minimal hand baggage. British Airways is telling travellers they are allowed only “one small personal item of hand baggage that can fit under the seat in front of you”. Another, larger piece can be checked in free of charge, though this in turn may lead to disruption if the baggage-drop counters cannot cope.

So what should you do? Heathrow recommends you get to the terminal two hours before departure for short-haul flights and three hours ahead for long-haul trips (as an aside, I am not sure why there should be a difference; everyone has to go through the same queues, and in my experience long-haul passengers have less cabin baggage and therefore tend to be speedier).

Turning up even earlier, eg at 5am, could see the security search lines at their shortest. The trouble is, as we have seen on previous occasions, is that if everyone decides to turn up ridiculously early then chaos results as a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy that brings about the airport to a standstill.

So I suggest you plan to arrive two hours early, as the airport urges. If it is mayhem, and you miss your flight – or it is cancelled – then the airline is responsible for getting you to Athens as swiftly as possible. Wizz Air and easyJet have afternoon flights from Luton and Gatwick respectively. If a seat is available, your airline will need to pay for it.

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