Travellers vent after missing Jetstar flight over 2-hour Covid test mistake
Two women are warning holiday-goers to read the fine print when travelling — after they missed their flight to Bali due to a PCR test that expired two hours before their flight boarded.
Sydney residents Jessie and Angie Carr were excited about their holiday to the popular Indonesian island, getting a PCR test 48 hours before departure — as is required by the Indonesian government — before going to the airport.
However when they went to board the flight, they discovered the test had expired, and are claiming Jetstar wasn't clear enough with their testing guidelines.
According to Ms Carr, the pre-departure rules by Jetstar state that travellers need their PCR results 48 hours before boarding.
"What they failed to specify was that it started from the time they completed the test rather than when you got the test results," Ms Carr said in a TikTok.
"This caused a major issue because my sister's PCR test results ended up being two hours expired."
Pair forced to rebook flights out of Sydney
Ms Carr explained that her sister took the test at 2:30pm on the Saturday before their flight left on Monday at 4:40pm because the PCR clinic closed at 4pm and she was concerned she wouldn't get the results in time.
The women rebooked a later flight and were able to leave for their holiday the next day, but not without some added stress.
"On top of this we also had to spend about $700 extra on a hotel room for the night and [get] new PCR tests," she said.
TikTok users were divided on who was at fault, some saying it's common knowledge and they should have been aware of the requirements before boarding while others said the airline should be clearer with the rules of the country they are flying to.
"It happened to my parents!" one user responded.
"The company should have educated them and let them board," another agreed. "Two hours should of [sic] just resulted in a warning".
Others argued you should do thorough research before entering another country.
"That’s pretty basic knowledge," someone replied, with another pointing out its not Jetstar's rules but the rules set by the Indonesian Government.
Jetstar says they provide passengers with 'up to date' travel information
A spokesperson from Jetstar told Yahoo News Australia the Indonesian Government requires passengers flying into Indonesia to conduct an RT-PCR test within 48 hours prior to their departure.
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"We provide customers with the most up-to-date requirements for travel via various channels, including tailored emails, dedicated pages on our website, and messages," the company said.
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