A Bermuda resident and entrepreneur had planned to travel overseas for only one day and return before the new traveller guidelines came into effect on Sunday, June 20.
However, due to a mix-up with the airline, they did not return until Monday, June 21.
“My travel authorization form had already been cleared and in place, but it had been approved prior to the new changes,” the traveler, whom TNN has decided to keep anonymous, said. “Once I arrived, my authorization form was scanned and I was sent to another line.”
Once they reached the front of the line at the airport, they were told that they would be sent a document to be signed so that their authorization form could be updated. The traveller, who happens to be unvaccinated, was then informed that they would be allowed to quarantine for only four days once arriving back on the island.
“ I noticed that the document that I was given clearly stated in red bolded print that a person would not be able to board the plane if they did not have their travel authorization in place,” they said. “ This document is in total conflict of what Premier Burt has said when he indicated that the airline is causing all the confusion for travellers.”
“ If the Government is indicating that information in bold print at the top of a document, that is not something that they just slipped in; that has been highlighted to make sure that every traveler sees and understands that information,” they continued. “ The airlines have been given something that indicates to them that certain people should not be allowed to travel.”
The traveller already lost one of their trips due to the Government changing the starting date for the new regulations from Sunday, June 6 to Sunday, June 20. As a result, they spent over $300 to change their return date to Saturday, June 5; only to find out that the date had been changed.
“ I travelled a lot for business [before this pandemic] and that portion of my life has come to an end because of all the regulations in place,” they said. “ I have a combination of paid and accumulated priority ]with the airlines], which I am also unable to fully use this year.”
The travel restrictions have also directly affected the traveller’s business resources, as they had storage overseas that they were not able to access and had to shut it down as a result.
“There is no sense in continuing to pay for something that I am not going to [fully] utilize . . . I’m now being subjected to staying here, unless I want to spend the money and resources that I would normally put into my business to help with my livelihood and pay for a hotel, just to go there; it really makes no sense, because I would be spending all of my profit,” they said.
In this person’s opinion, the entire travel process is too much for the average traveller to go through on a regular basis. This is particularly sad for them, because travel was a way for them to escape from the hustle-and-bustle of everyday life.
“ I would go away and look for products, which is where I get a lot of my creativity and where everything going on around me would come to a stop so that I could think, breathe, get my body in balance and rejuvenate myself to come back and deal with what I have to deal with,” they said.
“ It’s quite unfair that people can go to an event at Hamilton Princess and other hotels and a rate is negotiated, when they have not even negotiated a rate on our behalf.”
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