A friend of mine in the UK has just contacted me and said he would like to come and visit next month when Test & Go resumes.

 

He would fly from Heathrow to Bangkok then do the required testing and stays in Pattaya, if possible.

 

He is double vaccinated in the UK but he's kinda old school, doesn't have a Mobile phone (actually he does but it's not a smart phone, it's an old nokia and he only has it there for emergencies).

 

He has his certificate from when he was vaccinated but obviously no NHS QR code thingy app (I have never seen one so no idea what they look like).

 

So, I know that he submits the vax cert for the Test and Go, but when he goes to check in at Heathrow are they going to get funny about not having the App on the phone? Or am I overthinking it?

 

Hoping somebody else has done this with the vax cert only and can confirm what actually happens.

 

Thanks in advance.

Paper docs are fine.  They re probably preferred as easier to locate and read than phone based ones.  He'll also need booking confirmations for 2 hotel nights with PCR tests, insurance and PCR test before departure and I would present paper copies for them all if possible.

1 minute ago, treetops said:

Paper docs are fine.  They re probably preferred as easier to locate and read than phone based ones.  He'll also need booking confirmations for 2 hotel nights with PCR tests, insurance and PCR test before departure and I would present paper copies for them all if possible.

Thanks Treetops.

 

Yeah the rest of the paperwork is fine as he'll have it for the Test & Go application I presume, just pop them in a folder and give them to the checkin staff.

 

Bit worried as the Test & Go thing I think also gives you a QR code, so need to work out if there is a paper version of that as well, which there must be.

Paper documents make life easier. I've travelled back and forth a few times since beginning of the pandemic. People trying to show documents on mobile phones (often with no Internet connection) cause huge delays at check-in and border control/immigration. Printed documents are essential in my experience and I think some airlines are insisting on this too nowadays. Be prepared. 

 

How is your friend going to use the Morchana app without a mobile phone?

 

Captain Monday - I also do not have a 'smartphone' but it was not an issue either at Birmingham, Amsterdam [transit] or Bangkok.  There was no requirement for me to have the Morchana App and it was never mentioned during either of my flights or the hotel I did my overnight quarantine at.

 

There are a lot of us who do not use smartphones and this is recognised and seems fully acceptable.

51 minutes ago, Shannoblic said:

Captain Monday - I also do not have a 'smartphone' but it was not an issue either at Birmingham, Amsterdam [transit] or Bangkok.  There was no requirement for me to have the Morchana App and it was never mentioned during either of my flights or the hotel I did my overnight quarantine at.

 

There are a lot of us who do not use smartphones and this is recognised and seems fully acceptable.

 

Registration in  Morchana app WAS monitored by public health officials of Chiang Mai province (Test and Go), required upon arrival at the Chiang Mai Intl airport from overseas. Sure they could have made allowance I had not had one, or in my case exactly two smartphones minimum,  at all times.  Everything after leaving the airport was quite disorganized compared to ASQ and Sandbox. The other programs and hotels had apps one "had to" use for daily health monitoring and then also ordering meals.

 

Surely there can be workarounds but why the regressive attitude? Just pop down to a pawnbrokers and have a look at a decent used smartphone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

How is your friend going to use the Morchana app without a mobile phone?

 

In 3 x CoE returns and 2 x TP returns to Thailand not once has anyone asked to see my phone, let alone the Morchana app.

38 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

Just pop down to a pawnbrokers and have a look at a decent used smartphone.

If he can afford to fly to Bkk, book an hotel etc etc, another 100 quid for a Smart phone isn't going to break the bank.

And he must have a PC & printer to apply, download and print the necessary documents, unless he borrows that as well. 

53 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

In 3 x CoE returns and 2 x TP returns to Thailand not once has anyone asked to see my phone, let alone the Morchana app.

They did with mine.

 

YMMV.

The Morchana app does not work on my phone, the Thailand plus apps didn't either.

I had an email last week from a former Immigration Service colleague who mentioned this about his return from a skiing holiday in Europe:-

"On our return, I had a very pleasant conversation with a young female IO at Gatwick North who told me a bit about how the computer system linked all the required Covid information to your passport number, thus saving them from asking for additional paperwork or QR codes - the Home Office seems to have moved into the 21st century at last!"

I don't know who he'll fly with, but looking at (for example) Qatar Airways website, they say they will take a paper copy from passengers for their records, and so to bring 'multiple copies'. How many? doesn't say.

Also Thai embassy website, London specifically says to download the Morchana app, which your friend can't do. I'm not disputing the experience of travellers who got in without their phone being checked.