“Welcome to the Brexit, sir” – those were the words now
famously uttered by a Dutch border official to a British driver as he
confiscated his ham sandwiches upon arrival in the Netherlands earlier this
month. The subtext might have been: “your nation voted for this folly – deal
with it”.
Following the completion of the transition period at 11pm on
December 31, when ties between the UK and European Union were severed, the
exchange became an early symbol of Brexit’s
impact – however trivial the moment captured by a Dutch TV crew appeared.
With the freedom of movement for the UK’s people, goods,
services and capital to and within the 27 states of the EU coming to a
shuddering halt, many had feared significant disruption and chaotic scenes at
airports and borders, but that wasn’t to be.
How different things might have been had people –
holidaymakers and businesses – been going about their usual travels rather than
being almost entirely grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
There were 1,645 days between the UK referendum in June 2016
in which the nation voted 51.9% in favour of leaving the EU and the striking of
a trade deal on 24 December last year, just a week before the UK said au
revoir, auf wiedersehen and adios to its former equals.
With little actual detail set out in advance, it is not
surprising that in the weeks since – and despite severely suppressed business
travel activity – TMCs, corporates and individuals have begun to report complications
and confusion at borders.
On the other hand, several TMCs BTN Europe spoke
with, including FCM and Good Travel Management, said they had witnessed very
little disruption. The ITM reported a similar picture among its buyer members, but
all pointed to the exceptionally low numbers of people currently travelling.
Abby Penston, chief executive of the Focus Travel
Partnership, which comprises more than 40 small and mid-market TMCs, says Brexit
has not caused “undue issues” for its members’ clients but that this is down to
the “massive amounts of time and effort” invested in checking new procedures.
“Partners are reporting that they have had to send a great
deal more information and advice to clients because of Brexit,” she says, and
that “detailed information on visas and permits for long-stay workers,
seafarers and engineers are still lacking”.
Even corporates that aren’t travelling must prepare for the new levels of complexity they will face as European business
assignments return. And while pages 770-771 of the 1,276-page Trade
and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provide details on what activities
short-term business visitors can engage in, there is likely to be inconsistent application
on a country-by-country basis.
Furthermore, requirements for activities and
scenarios not covered in the TCA, as well as red tape for longer stays, now varies from nation to nation for UK passport holders.
“It’s an unprecedented deal in that it’s designed to
separate two markets. It’s about managing divergence. It’s also unprecedented
in its depth and breadth,” said Clare Moody, former MEP and political director
at Grayling, in a recent GBTA webinar.
She continued: “There are teething problems without doubt.
Some are systems related – particularly delays at borders – and some is because
that’s just how it’s going to be. There is just more friction now. We’ll have
queues at airports – more checks.
“You could argue the pandemic and reduction in travel have
made it easier to do this transition at this point in time. We don’t yet know
what the new normal is post-pandemic and how much less travel there will be in
general.”
Where previously UK travellers could hop on a plane to an EU
nation without barely a second thought, the business travel industry must now familiarise
itself with the particular requirements of 27 different nations. “If you’re
inside the EU it’s a single entity,” said Moody. “But if you’re outside you’re
looking at 27 member states and what each requires of you to get in.”
It is a reality that one UK-based travel manager is coming
to terms with. “My biggest issue is how different the rules can
be for each country,” they told BTN Europe, explaining that their travellers
now require visas to carry out a particular service in Denmark but do not need
one for Sweden.
They continue: “Even then, it is all well and good knowing the answers
but it is another matter getting the information to the traveller. Where do
they look for it? Do they consult with the Brexit hub we’ve set up? Do they
check with the TMC? Do they ask the travel department? TMCs are there to save
time when booking travel – among myriad other reasons – but this is now going
to add a lot of time checking and educating.”
Another major source of concern, they explain, is the permissible
length of stay in the EU – 90 days in any six-month period, applicable to both leisure
and business travellers. “Who keeps track of the number of days business travellers have been out
of the country [in the EU] – the TMC? The traveller? HR?”
They add: “What if business requires them to be in different [EU]
countries out of our region for, say, 80 days. Does that
mean that they cannot then travel on to Spain for a two-week holiday without a
visa?”
Mark Colley, managing director of Sunways Business Travel, says one
client that provides engineering support across Europe has travellers that will
almost certainly fall foul of the 90-day cap and instead require visas.
“The hope is that this process will not be marred by too much red tape,
otherwise the client will not be able to confidently tender for contracts
within the EU,” he says.
Global Travel Management’s managing director Scott Pawley says his TMC
has the tools to track travellers’ time spent in the EU, while FCM says
corporates must have access to assessment tools to define the requirements of a
proposed trip. The TMC has worked with its visa partner to provide clients with
an integrated self-assessment tool within its FCM Hub.
The added complexity, and who this falls upon to cut through and manage,
could become part of a wider debate around TMC service and remuneration structures.
For now, however, corporates and TMCs have the compounded complications of
travelling both in the immediate aftermath of Brexit and in the midst of a
pandemic.
“The challenge that we have seen is inconsistency in terms of Covid
or Brexit-related rules and regulations and the paperwork required. This is
becoming increasingly frustrating for our clients in the energy sector and food
and beverage industries whose business travel is essential right now,” says Donna
Joines, regional operations manager at Corporate Traveller UK.
“Individuals currently travelling already have comprehensive
paperwork and the appropriate permits. If these travellers are facing issues now,
then what’s going to happen when other industry sectors resume business travel?”