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FlightLogic is an independent, advertising-supported information service that lets you compare airlines, airports, hotels, and travel products. We do not provide financial advice and we do not recommend specific products or providers. Links marked * are advertising links and may earn us commission at no extra cost to you — always read the terms of any product before booking or applying. Learn more about how we make money.
Quick answers · UK travellers
The questions UK travellers actually search — answered directly, kept current, and linked to the full guide when you need the detail.
Travel Answers is FlightLogic's plain-English answer hub for the UK's most-searched travel questions — 30 answers covering passports and visas, airport rules, flight delay rights, travel money, and health cover, each answered directly in the first sentence and kept current for UK travellers.
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For the Schengen area your passport must be less than 10 years old on the day you enter and valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave. UK passports issued before October 2018 can carry extra months that no longer count — check the issue date, not just the expiry. Renew early if either rule is close.
UK visitors can spend at most 90 days in any rolling 180-day period across the whole Schengen area without a visa. The window rolls — count backwards 180 days from any date and total your days inside. Overstays can mean fines and entry bans, and the EU's Entry/Exit System now logs crossings electronically.
Yes — UK passport holders visiting the USA for up to 90 days need an ESTA, applied for online before travel. Apply at least 72 hours before departure on the official esta.cbp.dhs.gov site (third-party sites charge mark-ups). An ESTA lasts two years or until your passport expires. Anyone who has visited certain restricted countries may need a full visa instead.
The UK Electronic Travel Authorisation is a pre-travel permission for visitors who do not need a visa — including EU, US, and Gulf nationals. It is applied for via the official UK ETA app or gov.uk, is linked to the passport, and covers multiple visits. British and Irish citizens never need one. Check gov.uk for current fees and covered nationalities.
Eventually, yes. ETIAS is the EU's pre-travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, including UK citizens, expected to follow the Entry/Exit System rollout. It will be an online application tied to your passport, valid for about three years. It was not yet mandatory as of mid-2026 — check the official europa.eu ETIAS page before assuming you need one.
No — every traveller, including newborns, needs their own passport. Child passports last 5 years (adult passports 10). Allow several weeks for first-time child applications, longer at Easter and summer peaks. If your child has a different surname to yours, carry evidence of your relationship, such as a birth certificate, in case border staff ask.
Assume yes — the 100ml rule still applies at most UK airports, though airports with new CT security scanners have permission for larger allowances at certain terminals. Rules also depend on your return airport abroad, which may still enforce 100ml. Pack to the 100ml standard for a stress-free trip and check your specific airport's security page before flying.
Two hours before a short-haul flight and three before long-haul remains the reliable rule. Add time for school-holiday peaks, first-wave departures (05:00–08:00), checked bags, and airports with long security walks. With hand luggage only, online check-in, and a quiet mid-afternoon departure, 90 minutes can suffice — our airport guides list typical security waits by terminal.
It varies by airline, and the differences are profitable for them. As a benchmark: a free small under-seat bag is typically around 40×20×25cm on Ryanair and 45×36×20cm on easyJet, while full-size cabin bags (roughly 55×40×20–25cm) are free on BA but paid extras on most low-cost carriers. Always check your specific fare — gate charges for oversized bags are steep. Our airline profiles list current baggage policies.
Returning to Great Britain you can bring 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of still wine, 4 litres of spirits OR 9 litres of sparkling wine/fortified wine, 200 cigarettes, and up to £390 of other goods without paying UK duty. Exceed any limit and you pay on the full amount of that category, not just the excess. Northern Ireland follows different EU-aligned rules.
Under UK261, flights arriving 3+ hours late pay £220 (under 1,500km), £350 (1,500–3,500km) or £520 (over 3,500km) — provided the cause was within the airline's control. Technical faults usually qualify; extreme weather and air traffic control strikes usually do not. Long-haul delays of 3–4 hours pay £260 rather than £520. Claim directly with the airline first; it is free.
You always have the right to choose between a full refund or rebooking on the next available flight — including on rival airlines where reasonable. If cancelled within 14 days of departure you may also be owed UK261 compensation, unless the cause was extraordinary. The airline must provide meals and, overnight, a hotel while you wait — keep receipts if they fail to.
Airlines are liable for roughly up to £1,000 (about 1,288 Special Drawing Rights) per passenger for lost, damaged, or delayed bags under the Montreal Convention. Report at the airport before leaving (get a PIR reference), submit written claims within 7 days for damage and 21 days for delays, and keep receipts for essentials bought while waiting. Travel insurance often tops this up.
Only after asking for volunteers first. If you are denied boarding involuntarily on a UK/EU departure, you are entitled to UK261 compensation (£220–£520 by distance) on the spot, plus a refund or rebooking, plus care while you wait. Voluntary offers are negotiable — never accept the first voucher figure if you can hold out.
ATOL protects flight-inclusive package holidays booked with UK travel firms: if the company collapses, you get a refund before travel or repatriation if you are already abroad. It does not cover airline insolvency on flight-only bookings, nor delays, illness, or cancellations you make — that is what travel insurance and Section 75 card protection are for.
A free UK GHIC gives you medically necessary state healthcare in the EU at the same cost as a local — free in some countries, part-charges in others. It is not travel insurance: it will not pay for mountain rescue, repatriation to the UK, private clinics, or cancelled trips. Carry both a GHIC and proper travel insurance. Apply free on the official NHS site; avoid paid application sites.
Yes — a GHIC covers state healthcare but not repatriation, which can cost tens of thousands of pounds after a serious accident. Good single-trip Europe cover is often only a few pounds a day; look for at least £2m medical cover, cancellation cover matching your trip cost, and honest declaration of pre-existing conditions, or claims can be refused.
Yes — always. Failing to declare a condition, even one you consider managed, lets an insurer refuse the entire claim, including unrelated ones in some cases. If mainstream insurers quote silly prices, specialist providers cover most conditions, and the MoneyHelper directory (free, government-backed) lists insurers for serious diagnoses.
Light exposure at the right time matters most: seek morning light after flying east, evening light after flying west. Shift sleep by an hour or two towards the destination for a few days before long trips, hydrate on board, skip alcohol, and hold out until local bedtime on arrival. Expect roughly one day of adjustment per time zone crossed eastwards.
It depends entirely on your network — free EU roaming is no longer guaranteed post-Brexit. Some UK networks include it, others charge daily fees (typically £2–£7). Check your plan before travelling, set a spend cap, and for longer trips an eSIM data plan is usually far cheaper than daily roaming charges.
Pay by card in the LOCAL currency, always. Choosing pounds at a terminal triggers dynamic currency conversion with poor rates. Standard UK debit and credit cards often add ~3% non-sterling fees, so a specialist fee-free card pays for itself quickly. Carry a little cash for markets and tips; airport bureau rates are consistently the worst.
If you paid by UK credit card and the individual item cost over £100 (and under £30,000), Section 75 makes the card provider jointly liable with the seller — powerful if an airline or hotel collapses or fails to deliver. Paying even the deposit by credit card can protect the whole booking. Debit cards have the weaker chargeback route instead.
Air Passenger Duty is charged on every departure from a UK airport and rises with distance and cabin class — long-haul premium cabins carry the highest rates, revised most Aprils. It is one reason starting a long-haul journey with a separate hop to Dublin or Amsterdam can price lower. APD is refundable if you do not fly — airlines rarely volunteer this.
No magic weekday exists — pricing is dynamic and route-specific. What reliably works: book long-haul roughly 2–5 months out and short-haul 1–3 months out, be flexible by a day or two, fly mid-week, and compare across a fare aggregator plus the airline's own site. Price alerts beat superstition every time.
Minimum connection times are the legal floor, not a plan. For stress-free transfers allow 60–90 minutes on a single ticket at an efficient hub, 2+ hours at sprawling airports (Heathrow between terminals, US immigration points), and 3+ hours on separate tickets — where a missed leg is your problem, not the airline's. Our airport guides include realistic transfer notes.
Yes, but pet passports issued in Great Britain are no longer valid. You need an Animal Health Certificate from a vet within 10 days of each trip (or the newer travel document where introduced), plus microchip and rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travelling. Tapeworm treatment is required for dogs re-entering the UK. Check gov.uk as the scheme is being reformed.
Not for most of Europe — a UK photocard licence covers driving in the EU. IDPs (£5.50 from larger Post Offices) are needed for some countries and for older paper licences; Japan and some US rental firms also expect one. If taking your own car, you need a UK sticker and insurance that explicitly covers Europe.
Airport walk-up rates are consistently the worst on the high street — sometimes 10%+ below the interbank rate. Order online for airport collection if you must, but a fee-free card plus a small cash buffer beats bureau shopping entirely. Never buy currency on a credit card: it is treated as a cash advance with interest from day one.
UK CAA guidance says children under 12 should be seated close to accompanying adults, and airlines should do this without charging — but it is guidance, not strict law, and practice varies. Check in as early as possible, and if split at the gate, ask crew: they will almost always fix under-12 separations on board.
HM Passport Office advises allowing up to 3 weeks for standard online renewals, though quiet-season applications often complete faster. Never book travel until the new passport arrives. If genuinely urgent, the 1-week Fast Track or same-day Premium services cost considerably more and need an appointment. Check current processing advice on gov.uk before cutting it fine.
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