tmac100

To enter Canada (as a covid-vaxed Canadian) I need to complete and have a ArriveCAN app. This is a Canada government-issued legal document confirming vaccine status. I always have a hard copy of my documents with me instead of trusting the app on my smartphone/tablet, and it is shown for my travels to and within Canada.

This morning, BA sent an email stating I needed to complete an app called "VeriFly" for my flight to Canada. Is this another British bureaucratic faff, or has it some legal status for boarding my flight on Monday? What if I don't complete the VeriFly but have my ArriveCAN and supporting covid vax documents?

Until now, I have only shown my ArriveCAN document to enter Canada - or to board any flight destined for Canada.

Please advise.

Cara200

I don’t know about Canada but I have used Verifly a number of times when flying to the USA and it’s useful at check-in at the airport. As far as I am aware its use is entirely voluntary.

tmac100

Thank you. I will just carry my ArriveCAN doc with supporting hardcopy. No point in doing useless faff to enter the country.

I have already spent over 1000 GBP extra to change to a direct LHR-YYZ flight on Monday afternoon instead of flying through the USA to YYZ and doing two airport changes as well = (LHR/LGW) and then (JFK-LGA) on the way to YYZ. Yes, in this case KISS was costly.

hansyuwiwb

Discard BA’s email.

Nothing other than ArriveCAN is required. BA programs their systems to send these emails that supposedly will save them labor required at the airport to verify documents, but it mostly doesn’t work and you’d have to queue at the airport again anyways. There’s little benefit to the passenger, and no, it’s not “required”

CKBA

I would just ignore it.
Flying to US today - have had numerous emails from BA about how we 'must' use Verifly - but we don't. BA website, app and emails all provide different information. Furthermore, I really object to handing over my information to a 3rd party - Verifly is NOT BA.
(BTW - BA say you have to have Verifly in order to do OLCI, but we managed to without it).

tmac100

Agreed. It seems another way to have some BA boffins enhance their profiles/career prospects. A useless exercise with NO legal standing. Besides, having just completed my latest ArriveCAN document, I can only marvel how much easier the application is (today) as compared to the issues I experienced in the past. And now there is only the one page with the QR code. Mind you it would be better if my name was on the same page as the QR code - in case some boffin wants to raise an issue with that.
Some BA personnel would do better by reducing flight cancellations and/or baggage losses.
As I said earlier: "No point in doing useless faff to enter the country."

PUCCI GALORE

Entering Canada is always a faff as tmac100 puts it. The difference between their faff and others faff is that they are so pleasant about it. We had managed to board an AA flight to YUL with our Covid certs but not arriveCAN. There were two ladies who helped us thought the lot. They could not have been more friendly. Ironically the document or Q code that we had to share was not requested and although it was a bit slow, it was fine.

Verifly is fine and has worked well for us but the sooner that it is gone and buried the better.

corporate-wage-slave

There are more details in the main VeriFLY thread. But just a few months ago a Brit entering Canada from LHR would need about 10 minutes of checks to enter Canada. Canadians about 5 minutes. A family group particularly with younger unvaccinated children could take 20 to 30 minutes to process - remember there was a requirement to provide a quarantine plan in case the traveller turned positive after arrival, a check unique to Canada, along with a non-discretionary rule previously. Many people misunderstood the requirements and that led to arguments, and quite frequently in a landscape of changing requirements agents also would get things wrong. That is unsustainable even with flights only 25% full. VeriFLY allowed checks to take place in your own home, and so silly things, such as expiry dates, could be resolved with enough time to fix anything that wasn't correct, well before getting to LHR. We are in happier times and the benefits fo VeriFLY are less now, but still the vaccination rules for Canada are different to the UK, and still people turn up for LHR-YYZ flights with incorrect documents.

lhrsfo

Ignore VeriFLY. Like most BA tech it doesn’t work properly and if, like in my case, it isn’t working you will spend an hour or more fighting with it, and failing, only to trigger yet more disingenuous emails from BA.

tmac100

I really enjoy reading/hearing the word "disingenuous" - it sounds so much more BS-ing than just "*** lying".

Ew/oQ

You are not the only one not to complete or partially complete or even know about ArriveCan. Welcome to the 40% of those crossing into Canada at Windsor.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/winds...rder-1.6527437

pmarrsouth

Like printing hard copies?

tmac100

Au contraire! A hard copy is there in their face. A smartphone/tablet can cause hassles - and there are stories of headaches with technology. Besides, paper is always working - even if a smartphone/tablet is not. The recent headaches in Toronto with Rogers wifi etc being down illustrates that point.

PUCCI GALORE

I am the Hard Copy Queen. Even if I have checked in on line and am not able to print - I will get a hard copy of the BP at the airport. I have horrors of not being able to connect at some vital moment. I have had to get out the Iphone/Ipad before now with VeriFly. BA did not need me to, but AA did. I don't argue. Once they've seen the mug shot with the big green tick - off we go.

adrianlondon

I got an email saying I had to complete Verify before I'd be allowed to check-in despite no documentation at all (related to Covid) needed to fly from LHR to BSL. I ignored it.

A day later, check-in opened online as usual and i checked in with no issues.