Frequently asked questions

If you have booked with a Travel Agent please contact them directly for assistance.

Status Extension

We will be extending the status of all our Silver and Gold Flying Club members by 6 months, so that your status is protected during this difficult period. For example, this means that if your original membership year was due to expire on 30 April 2020, the new expiry date will be 31 October 2020. 

This means you will now have 18 months to earn the tier points you need to maintain your current status or achieve new status: 400 tier points need to be earned during the 18 month Extended Membership Year for Silver status to be maintained for another 12 months and 1000 tier points need to be earned during the 18 month Extended Membership Year for Gold status to be maintained for another 12 months.  

We will not be sending out new membership cards for this extension period, but your Extended Membership Year will be viewable online in your Flying Club account. Additionally, your digital membership card can be viewed and printed online or downloaded via the Virgin Atlantic app.   

For Gold members whose account renews automatically every year the Extended Membership Year will not be applicable. The normal renewal benefits will be awarded at the end of the 12 month membership year instead of the Extended Membership Year.

Your account will be updated on our internal systems by Friday 20 March 202

Voucher extension 

We will be extending the validity of any current companion, upgrade or Clubhouse vouchers that our members might have, in order to give you more time to use these.

Members who have earned companion rewards, Clubhouse access or upgrades through the Virgin Atlantic Reward and Reward+ Credit Card, or the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard will have the validity of the voucher extended by 12 months e.g. if the voucher expires on 15 May 2020, the new expiry date will be 15 November 2020. 

Gold members who have earned a companion reward for renewing Gold status, Clubhouse passes for the 1500 tier point reward or the 2000 tier point upgrade reward will have these rewards extended by six months e.g. if the voucher expires on 15 May 2020, the new expiry date will be 15 November 2020. 

Please note that replacement vouchers will not be issued but your rewards will still be valid. 

This applies to all vouchers which are valid as of 13 March 2020

Your account will be updated on our internal systems by Friday 20 March 2020

More information

1. How safe is it to travel to other countries where they have had confirmed cases of Covid-19? Is it generally safe to travel at the moment and if you do, does it put you at any greater risk of catching the virus?

We urge our customers to refer to official sources of travel and medical advice. They are the most up to date and accurate ways of finding out information about travel restrictions/guidance and Covid-19-related medical advice. 

PHE – Covid-19 Guidance from GOV.UK
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

World Health Organization (WHO) – COVID-19 Disease Outbreak https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice 
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice 

NHS Advice
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html

What precautions are you taking to safeguard health onboard?

We are following, and often exceeding, the latest official advice from public health authorities relating to Covid-19 in all the destinations we fly to.

We have robust procedures for dealing with any suspected communicable disease on board. These are in place to protect all of our customers and crew.

• Our crew are all highly trained to deal with the assessment and treatment of such cases and we have medical and personal protective equipment to support these procedures.
• We also have a ground based medical advisory service who would assist in every case. These procedures comply with all current guidance issued by global health and regulatory bodies
• Airport medical screening is available for anyone who is identified as feeling unwell at the airport. This screening uses our expert medical advisory provider MedAire. 
• We are working closely with Public Health England, relevant Port Health Authorities, and Inflight Medical Advice via MedAire, to ensure that we are ready for any eventuality onboard with customers who don’t declare any symptoms
• Air recirculation systems on all our aircraft have HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) Filters which remove dust, allergens, bacteria, viruses and other irritating particles from the air passengers and crew breathe in pressurized cabins and cockpits. All of the air in the cabin is on average completely changed every 3 minutes. The filters are very effective at removing viruses (testing shows a virus removal efficiency of 99.999%), meaning that they will be retained in the filter.

We’re also taking extra steps at this time to ensure a healthy environment onboard when you travel with us. You can read more on Cleaning and sanitising our planes here 

6. Self-isolation: what if I've been told to self-isolate, but don’t have any documentation to confirm? Does the communicable disease policy apply?

Any advice to self-isolate should be given formally by a Government Health Authority (eg Public Health England) or NHS 111 (in the UK). If you've been told to self-isolate by one of these organisations then you should have evidence of some sort (for example a letter or email from a GP). However, we'll use our judgement if you tell us you do not have formal documentation and our policy covers this.

7. If I think I may have spent time with someone who may have the virus, what should I do? 

In the UK, call NHS 111 to obtain up to date advice and information or visit the website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/common-questions/.

8. Am I obligated to to declare any medical conditions?

Yes – please refer to section 14 in Conditions of Carriage. Note, the obligation on the customer is not limited to stated conditions.  

9. How do I declare a medical condition?

We have an internal passenger clearance service; all cases come through either the Contact Centre or Special Assistance. 

10. How can corporate travellers provide their medical information?

 They will need to contact Special Assistance either by email special.assistance@fly.virgin.com or call: From the UK: 0344 481 4455, Outside the UK: +44 344 481 4455, From the US: 1 888 747 7474. 

11. Is there any obligation on a corporation/corporate client to notify us of medical conditions or does this sit between the traveller and the airline?

 Anyone with medical conditions that may be affected by long haul flight should inform Special Assistance whether corporate or not – we would advise the passenger to contact Special Assistance directly.

12. How do you treat and manage any medical data in light of GDPR?

Our Special Assistance team will obtain your consent required under GPDR. All cases are managed through Microsoft Dynamics which has strictly governed access. 

Nothing is more important to us and our partner airlines around the world than the safety of our customers and crew. We are working closely to ensure your comfort and well-being, whenever you fly with us.

Our partners are working diligently with their respective government agencies, national and international health and aviation authorities, to monitor the latest health and travel advice, sharing regular updates on their websites as this situation evolves. For further information please refer to Delta, Air France, KLM help pages.