Direct Airside Transit Visa Exemption
Mar 25, 2019, 9:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Slightly to the left of center
Posts: 3,475
Direct Airside Transit Visa Exemption
Greetings all:
Looking for assistance to avoid a potential denied boarding situation as a result of interpretation of exemptions to a DATV.
Reference to a somewhat similar incident here: Direct Airside Transit visa exemption + BA check-in staff
HOWEVER, MoveUp (UK Visa Solutions for South Africans) says the information is outdated and in fact +1 would not be exempt- therefore requiring the DATV.
Question: What can we reasonably do in advance to ensure no problems at check in (short of obtaining a DATV - not enough time remains)?
The other thread mentions https://www.timaticweb.com/ as the potential source the check-in agent would use to determine document requirements. There must be a better solution than just showing up at the airport and hoping for the best....
We are flying first class, so I checked with BA Concierge; friendly enough, but said they can't assist with hypothetical situations for travel next month.
Thanks in advance
Looking for assistance to avoid a potential denied boarding situation as a result of interpretation of exemptions to a DATV.
Reference to a somewhat similar incident here: Direct Airside Transit visa exemption + BA check-in staff
- DBCME+1 traveling South Africa to Spain next month via British Airways
- +1 holds a South Africa Passport
- +1 has a valid US Visa
- Airside connection in LHR T5 to T3
- Normally, this would require a Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) as per UK.GOV: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/s...ewhere_else/no
- Although +1 does not pass through immigration, the airline would reportedly require this DATV in order to check in
- There are a number of exemptions for a DATV, one such exemption is a valid US Visa, irrespective of whether US is part of the itinerary.
HOWEVER, MoveUp (UK Visa Solutions for South Africans) says the information is outdated and in fact +1 would not be exempt- therefore requiring the DATV.
Question: What can we reasonably do in advance to ensure no problems at check in (short of obtaining a DATV - not enough time remains)?
The other thread mentions https://www.timaticweb.com/ as the potential source the check-in agent would use to determine document requirements. There must be a better solution than just showing up at the airport and hoping for the best....
We are flying first class, so I checked with BA Concierge; friendly enough, but said they can't assist with hypothetical situations for travel next month.
Thanks in advance
Last edited by DBCme; Mar 25, 2019 at 9:48 am Reason: added emphasis to key messages
Mar 25, 2019, 10:20 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: London. Or a plane.
Programs: "Only" 50,000 TPs until BA GGLfL
Posts: 2,779
The Visa check in Expertflyer's Travel Information section polls TIMATIC I think?
Information as of 25MAR19 / 1618 UTC
National South Africa (ZA) /Embarkation South Africa (ZA)
Transit United Kingdom (GB) /Destination Spain (ES)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW
United Kingdom (GB) TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Nationals of South Africa transiting
through London: Gatwick (LGW), Heathrow (LHR) or Manchester
(MAN) with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight to a third
country on the same calendar day. They must:
- have a visa issued by Australia, Canada, New Zealand or USA,
and
- stay in the international transit area of the airport, and
- have documents required for the next destination.
- This TWOV facility does not apply to passengers transiting
to Ireland (Rep.).
National South Africa (ZA) /Embarkation South Africa (ZA)
Transit United Kingdom (GB) /Destination Spain (ES)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW
United Kingdom (GB) TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Nationals of South Africa transiting
through London: Gatwick (LGW), Heathrow (LHR) or Manchester
(MAN) with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight to a third
country on the same calendar day. They must:
- have a visa issued by Australia, Canada, New Zealand or USA,
and
- stay in the international transit area of the airport, and
- have documents required for the next destination.
- This TWOV facility does not apply to passengers transiting
to Ireland (Rep.).
Mar 25, 2019, 11:04 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold 1MM, BA Gold, UA Peon
Posts: 6,111
The UK government also produces this document:
https://assets.publishing.service.go..._Sept_2018.pdf
which in particular has numbers for air carriers to call in case of doubt. You can print this off to give to airlines who do not understand.
It says (and South Africa is listed in RED)
https://assets.publishing.service.go..._Sept_2018.pdf
which in particular has numbers for air carriers to call in case of doubt. You can print this off to give to airlines who do not understand.
It says (and South Africa is listed in RED)
Nationals of the countries shown in RED (underlined) above need a visa to transit AIRSIDE unless they hold one of the following:
(i) a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA (whether or not the holder is travelling to or from these countries);
(i) a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA (whether or not the holder is travelling to or from these countries);
Mar 25, 2019, 12:13 pm
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
One need not subscribe to EF in order to obtain travel document requirements. There are a number of carriers which provide direct IATA TIMATIC access without charge. I happen to find the UA portal the most customer friendly.
https://www.united.com/web/en-us/app...TIMATIC&POS=US
This is what the check-in agent will see in front of her and it is what she is trained to rely on. It is generally a poor idea to rely on print outs of other documents as staff are trained to rely on the database and not anything handed to them. Same goes for calling ahead. Phone agents are poor at this and prone to misinformation.
https://www.united.com/web/en-us/app...TIMATIC&POS=US
This is what the check-in agent will see in front of her and it is what she is trained to rely on. It is generally a poor idea to rely on print outs of other documents as staff are trained to rely on the database and not anything handed to them. Same goes for calling ahead. Phone agents are poor at this and prone to misinformation.
Mar 25, 2019, 12:35 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Slightly to the left of center
Posts: 3,475
One need not subscribe to EF in order to obtain travel document requirements. There are a number of carriers which provide direct IATA TIMATIC access without charge. I happen to find the UA portal the most customer friendly.
https://www.united.com/web/en-us/app...TIMATIC&POS=US
This is what the check-in agent will see in front of her and it is what she is trained to rely on. It is generally a poor idea to rely on print outs of other documents as staff are trained to rely on the database and not anything handed to them. Same goes for calling ahead. Phone agents are poor at this and prone to misinformation.
https://www.united.com/web/en-us/app...TIMATIC&POS=US
This is what the check-in agent will see in front of her and it is what she is trained to rely on. It is generally a poor idea to rely on print outs of other documents as staff are trained to rely on the database and not anything handed to them. Same goes for calling ahead. Phone agents are poor at this and prone to misinformation.
Plan is just to check in as normal, raise none of this, so that hopefully it's a non-issue given the TIMATIC readout.
Apr 26, 2019, 2:18 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Slightly to the left of center
Posts: 3,475
Returning here to post the outcome. Due to the poorly understood, often misinterpreted policy by an assortment of (non-FT) "experts" - we were FAR to anxious to wait until day of travel to determine whether +1 could fly or not.
So we went to the airport a couple weeks before departure, presented selves and the situation. The private security firm (screener) before you speak with the check-in agent said it was not allowed. We pushed and finally spoke to a Duty Manager. He was friendly and helpful, thanked us for coming in to ask, as far to many people show up at JNB airport thinking they can fly - and they cannot. In our case, as every poster has said on here, no problem with a DATV since +1 has a U.S. Visa traveling to a third country.
Then on check in day, no questions asked whatsoever.
A fine outcome.
Thanks again everyone.
So we went to the airport a couple weeks before departure, presented selves and the situation. The private security firm (screener) before you speak with the check-in agent said it was not allowed. We pushed and finally spoke to a Duty Manager. He was friendly and helpful, thanked us for coming in to ask, as far to many people show up at JNB airport thinking they can fly - and they cannot. In our case, as every poster has said on here, no problem with a DATV since +1 has a U.S. Visa traveling to a third country.
Then on check in day, no questions asked whatsoever.
A fine outcome.
Thanks again everyone.