British Vaccine Passport Repaired after Glitch Left Travellers Panicking

A technical problem that caused British travelers to lose access to their NHS COVID Pass in order for them check into flights was now fixed.

The NHS COVID Pass, also called the vaccination passport is known.

On Thursday, users trying to access proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status via the NHS App and website found that the service was unavailable from 3: 50 p.m. onwards on Aug. 18.

‘Unavailable’

The vaccine passport app informed travellers it was “sorry” that the NHS COVID Pass was currently unavailable .”

The NHS App and online access to this information is the only way that you can get it at the moment. If the information has been downloaded, then access to it should not be affected

In a Twitter statement, NHS Digital, the nation’s provider of data and information systems to the British healthcare system, said that they apologise and would appreciate your patience while we try to fix it .”

The service resumed working at 10 p.m. after the technical issue was resolved.

The British government has discontinued its NHS COVID pass for domestic use in England as part of the “Living with COVID” strategy. The NHS COVID Pass was the official way to demonstrate COVID-19 vaccination status in England and was used by nightclubs and large events to check people’s vaccination or test status.

People still use this to prove their vaccination status while traveling.

The European Union made available its COVID-19 passport for all E.U. Residents and citizens of July 2021.

Almost all European Union/European Economic Area member countries have removed all restrictions on entry and allow all travelers to enter freely.

Only Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain still require COVID-19 rules for Brits. UK has left E.U. Third-country nationals must meet certain requirements, such as proof that they have been vaccinated, recovered, or issued a test certificate, in order to be admitted.

Reaction

Jon May, 32, told the PA news agency that he was supposed to be flying to Valencia, Spain, from Bristol at 6 a.m. on Friday for a work conference. He was unable to access his NHS App proof of vaccination when he attempted to retrieve it on Thursday.

“I have had the three jabs and went to the NHS App. It said “Service unavailable.” I thought it was strange. He said, “I have a flight at 6:15 a.m.

May stated that he was anxious about being detained at Spain’s border.

” I have all of my vaccines. But, the certificate is not available to me.” he stated. He said, “I could get to Spain and then be deported from Spain. That would be embarrassing.”

PA Media was a contributor to this report.

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