Is Ukraine International Airlines safe to travel with?

Simon Calder answers your questions concerning the Ukranian plane crash in Iran, extra legroom, entry to China and the 2026 World Cup

Iran has taken responsibility for the tragic shoot-down: it was not the airline’s fault (IRNA/AFP)

Q My family and I have bought tickets for a holiday in Dubai for the Easter holiday with Ukraine International Airlines from Gatwick via Kiev. Can you kindly advise on the safety of the airline and the stopover?

Adeola O

A The tragic shooting down of UIA’s flight PS752 from Tehran to Kiev, with the loss of 176 lives, was the responsibility of the Iranian military, not the airline. I do not think it is reasonable to conclude that flying on Ukraine International Airlines is a risky undertaking. The European Union Air Safety Agency is also content with the airline’s standards.

Since the disaster, UIA has routed flights to Dubai on a circuitous route over Saudi Arabia in order to avoid Iraqi and Iranian airspace. I am a fairly frequent flyer on the airline and find it an agreeable carrier with friendly inflight service. It provides excellent fares to destinations in Asia and Arabia, including Dubai, through its hub at Boryspil airport east of Kiev.

Mostly, I travel from Gatwick to Kiev and onwards from there, though on one occasion I took a Eurostar train to Brussels and flew from there, tempted by a particularly cheap deal via Kiev to Almaty in Kazakhstan (helped by the absence of £78 in air passenger duty). The only disadvantage I find with UIA is that some of the timings are anti-social, and I see that your flight is due to arrive in Dubai in the early hours. But presumably you have saved hundreds of pounds compared with nonstop flight.

Boryspil airport is a reasonably manageable airport, though it can get crowded as the flights from Europe arrive and passengers transfer to their onward departures. The eating and drinking options are inexpensive but uninspiring; if you feel you have time, you can actually exit the airport for a couple of hours and grab a taxi to the nearby town of Boryspil itself, where the offerings include global fast-food chains (useful if travelling with children) and some Ukrainian alternatives.

Cape Town: Andrew wants to upgrade on a group booking to South Africa (Getty/iStock)

Q I have booked a tour to South Africa with Riviera Travel. The flights were originally booked with South African Airways, but due to the financial problems encountered by SAA, Riviera has changed the group booking to BA. I am happy with its decision. My problem is that, at 6ft5in tall, I do not want a 12-hour flight in economy class.

I have offered to pay Riviera and BA for an upgrade, but neither will countenance that because it’s a group booking.

I now have the booking reference, but still BA will not speak to me about purchasing an upgrade.

I find this to be extremely frustrating and it will overshadow what will otherwise be a fantastic trip. Do you know of a way out of this trap, please? I would be very grateful for any advice.

Andrew B

A Poor South African Airways is going through a torrid time financially, and your travel firm’s solution to book you on British Airways seems prudent. But one of many mysteries of air travel is the way that some airlines won’t easily let you spend money on an extra service you want to buy. I dare say they blame systems issues to do with the booking – and to be fair there is some merit in not allowing passengers to go into said system and amend details.

Nearer the time, you might want to try again with your reference number and see if you have more luck paying for an upgrade – or just an extra-legroom seat. But if you can’t, don’t fret.

I presume the tour group will all meet at the group check-in at Heathrow together. I suggest you get there a bit early and speak to check-in staff. Explain your situation and enlist their help in finding you a solution. My guess is that they will have been asked the same question many times, and will have a solution – you are at the airline’s home base, after all.

They may even be able to help you upgrade your journey back from South Africa – or at least put a note by your booking to indicate your wish to upgrade if seats are available.

Even if they can’t help because premium economy or business class are full, they may be able to do something to ease your journey – such as allocating you a seat in an emergency exit row if some are available, or simply giving you an economy seat with an empty one adjacent.

Perhaps you will kindly let me know how it goes.

Gateway to the east: entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing (Getty)

Q We are cruising from Japan to Hong Kong which includes overnight onboard stays in Beijing and Shanghai in May this year. We have British passports. I believe we do not require visas for Japan but can you please clarify if we need visas for the two ports in China? Also, what immunisation would you recommend for this cruise?

Dennis R

A As you surmise, you need no visa for Japan. But you will need one for China. If you booked through a travel agent that is a member of Abta, the travel association, then you should have been told – before you signed on the dotted line – about the hard-line visa rules for the People’s Republic.

Abta’s code of conduct states the travel agent must: “Before a contract is made, advise their clients of passport, visa and other entry and transit requirements for the journeys to be undertaken where it is reasonably practicable for the members to obtain this information.” And yes, it is entirely practicable for them to obtain this information.

I am sorry to say that you will need to pay out around £200 each and attend a visa centre in London, Manchester or Edinburgh to be fingerprinted. If you have the good fortune to be over 70, there is no obligation for the fingerprinting – but it will still require a big cash investment. Your travel agent might also have pointed out that this can be avoided if you choose a cruise with only one port of call in China and take advantage of the 144-hour transit-without-visa arrangement.

If you did book through a travel agent and were not informed of the onerous visa regulations, I suggest that you invite the agent to contribute towards the cost. On medical precautions: personally I would rely on my existing hepatitis, typhoid and yellow fever vaccinations. But again, your travel agent should advise you to consult a travel medicine professional.

Brazil were champions in 1994, the last time the USA staged the Fifa World Cup (Getty)

Q What’s your advice about Avios? I plan to get a British Airways Amex card and start using it now because I want to take our family of five to the USA/Mexico/Canada World Cup in 2026.

We usually spend £1,000 each per month on our current credit cards. I don’t know much about Avios but I’d hope we’d build up enough points in five years to pay for all the flights. Do you think it would be easy enough, when the time comes, to book five Avios seats on the same flight?

David B

A I hope I can manage your expectations about what I find to be the useful but modest benefits of collecting Avios frequent-flyer points.

First, there is much to be said for putting as much spending as possible on a British Airways-branded American Express card. It provides one Avios for each pound you spend. I value each Avios at 1.25p (assuming you use them wisely), so on a healthy spend it is worth having. On your £12,000 annual spend spread over six year, your 72,000 points would notionally be “worth” £900.

Furthermore if you spend £10,000 in a year – which would be comfortably possible on your monthly figure – you get a Companion Voucher that entitles you to get flights for two for the price of one. This voucher has a couple of drawbacks: it is time-limited, and is still subject to the range of taxes, fees and miscellaneous charges that BA likes to apply to Avios. It might prove useful, though. And the Avios you accrue can be used to obtain flights for the whole family.

Perhaps you can sense a “But” approaching?

The main use I make of Avios is for very short-notice European flights. For example, last month I needed a last-minute ticket from Heathrow to Warsaw. The cash fare the day before travel on both British Airways and LOT Polish Airlines was over £300, but with Avios it cost 4,000 points and £60 – so call it £110.

I also use Avios for one-way long-haul bookings on British Airways (BA has ridiculously high fares for one-ways outside Europe). But otherwise, I would never try to redeem Avios for North American flights. The taxes, fees and charges are absurdly high, to the point where low-season cash fares are lower than the payment British Airways demands for using your Avios. In peak season, availability can be extremely difficult to find. And even if you do manage to find seats, your holding of points won’t get the whole family on board by any means.

While I applaud your forward planning, just relax. Even relative to the number of fans converging on the US, Mexico and Canada for the 2026 World Cup, there is a huge amount of capacity. Wait until the draw has allowed you to decide where you want to be and when, and buy tickets for cash. And if you happen to be flying on British Airways, you might want to redeem some Avios to upgrade.

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