Prior to going to Portugal I/we had done all the necessary admin ref Covid.
The passenger locator form part was the most irritating, because error messages appeared about 50 times, for no obvious reason. It took ages, and seemed to be an essential part of the pre trip. We were surprised therefore, when on the plane out, they announced that you could just fill in a form on the plane if you wanted to. Well that would have saved me about 45 minutes 2 days prior.
So when coming back, from a country ( Portugal ) with relatively few cases, to a country ( GB ) with more cases than anyone else in the world, I assumed that the same option would be offered, and DIDNT fill in a form online. Doh, that was a mistake. At Faro airport we were told we couldn’t get on the plane unless we had done it.
That meant, at bag drop, we had to duly do it. You go to Gov.Uk and start the process. You fill in the same information again and again, and after about 10 minutes it asks you to confirm you have a day 2 test booked. Well no, we hadn’t ( either ) … so then it gives you a list of test providers, and you HAVE to book and pay for one. If you don’t, you can’t complete the passenger locator form.
I’m telling you, it’s not bloody easy on a mobile phone doing it, and I’m phone savvy. …
Without the email from the test company, and their booking reference, you can’t get on the flight. I did mine ( eventually ) and Gina did hers. Except I got a confirmation email, and she didn’t! So we did it again, for Gina, PAYING AGAIN for a test. Two tests now paid for she got no email, and couldn’t complete her form.
Jesus I’m feeling really f’d off by now ( having already had a really hard time locating the Uber that I’d booked for Gina an hour before, that didn’t turn up at my apartment, but instead stopped about 500 yards away, and couldn’t speak any English, meaning I had to triride around for 20 minutes trying to find him… before getting G in the car, and then tririding 10 miles on BIG roads to the airport ) … and felt really up against it.
At my wits end, and now doing hers for her ( but failing miserably ) I tried using MY test confirmation code on HER passenger locator form. Strictly speaking, that isn’t legal, I’m sure, but it worked … and her form was accepted, and we got through.
It took over an hour to get that far though, and it’s very difficult.

This trip has had huge ‘ drama’ every single day. Sh** has gone wrong big time, day in day out. I do wonder whether it’s anything near worth it, me leaving home, I really do.
As I’ve said before, often, it would be so ‘easy’
to just do nothing, ever… and sadly that’s pretty much what lots of paralysed people do, because the hurdles are just stacked up, stretching into the distance, always.

This flight was changed , and we now have the
extra complication of getting back from Gatwick after midnight. It’s really really hard for me to get into a normal car, and then you have to get my wheelchair in, plus my triride, so I get public transport, or wheelchair taxis, where I stay in my chair in the car, having gone in via a ramp. BUT …wheelchair taxis are very hard to get, outside London, so the most likely option if I can’t get one, is a train at 2.40 am, which eventually gets to central London. After that it’s 2 more changes and another 90 minutes, which means home at 5.30am.
Rather than do that, I’m hoping to get to central London, get a cab for G and triride myself home, meeting G in Brentford at say, 4 am.
I’m not selling this stuff, am I ? I honestly think that I’ve had more stressful days on this one trip, than I’d had in a lifetime pre injury, and I’m not kidding – and I’m supposed to be on holiday?
But this is my non stop reality. Do nothing, or lead an extremely complicated life.