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Home  >  British Airways  >  Another Costly Travel Screw-Up: Yellow Fever Vaccinations
British Airways

Another Costly Travel Screw-Up: Yellow Fever Vaccinations

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 31, 2014 9 Comments

I think my last big travel mistake was missing the bus by one minute and having to pay an outrageous taxi fee to travel 50km from central Reykjavik to Keflavik International Airport in Iceland. There have been small mistakes, of course, in the meantime, but nothing really costly…until I tried to fly from Johannesburg to Livingstone, Zambia.

Yellow Fever is a problem in parts of Africa and a seasoned traveler like me should have known better….Here’s a word of a helpful advice: when traveling in Africa, it is prudent to carry your vaccination card and if you have not received your yellow fever vaccination, get it before you go.

I suppose I got off lucky when I just bribed my way out of a yellow fever vaccination verification during my transit through Lagos, Nigeria, but there was no buying off a British Airways’ agent in JNB trying to check in for a flight to LVI to see Victoria Falls.

Actually, I sent my wife Heidi ahead to check in while I returned the rental car, only to receive a text message 10 minutes later stating, “Keep the car, we can’t go.” It was too late for that, and as I entered the terminal I found Heidi in line at the BA ticketing counter. I thought that our bag were overweight, but nope – Zambia was added a yellow-fever risk country a few years ago, so now yellow fever vaccinations are necessary to return to South Africa.

No matter, we were traveling one-way. Didn’t matter – BA policy was no vaccination, no travel.

My concern now was about losing the value of the ticket – it was an Avios booking (incredibly only 4,500 miles and $40 for a $280 ticket) and BA Executive Club rules prohibit changes or cancellations within 24 hours of departure (even though I booked the ticket less than 24 hours earlier).

I rang up the Executive Club and reached a nice agent who worked with her support desk to allow me to change the ticket to a next-day departure – though we were charged a $55 change fee (per ticket) for my stupidity.

We could have gone into Johannesburg and tried to find a cheaper vaccination, but we opted to use the airport clinic, where the yellow fever shot was quickly administered for 650 Rands (about $65).

At the clinic, were warned that the incubation period is 10 days and if we left South Africa, we could not return until that period has passed. Hmm, the simple solution to that is to return to South Africa from another country, like Botswana or Namibia…not that we did that….

It was too late to make the flight, so we just booked a night at the Aviator Hotel close to the airport – nothing fancy, but a reasonable $75 with internet, free shuttle, and breakfast.

The next morning we made the flight…one day late to Victoria Falls, but now holding the proper health credentials.

One last observation. South African Government rules require a vaccination even if you are only transiting a third-country at risk for yellow fever. But, border officials are not exactly consciousness about checking on this. I was never asked to produce my vaccination card when landing from Lagos and when we returned from Botswana, we were never asked for proof of yellow fever vaccination, despite clear evidence of having been in Zambia in our passports.

So the risk seems greater with the airline (since they would have to transport you back and face a fine) than with the government – if you can get past the airline, you will likely have no problem getting past the SA government.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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9 Comments

  1. Dimitri Reply
    November 1, 2014 at 6:26 am

    🙂 educational story

  2. Mike S. Reply
    November 1, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    I am connecting in ADD on my way to JNB. Do I need a yellow fever card ? thnx

  3. Rapid Travel Chai Reply
    November 1, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    Extra tip for readers is when they get their certificate, get a medical professional to copy over and consolidate all their prior vaccines with dates to the new book so if some other issue comes up, whether immigration or health, it is in one place for easy reference.

  4. Dov Reply
    November 2, 2014 at 5:06 am

    Was it really worth to pay $55 to save the 4500 miles

    In any case u would get back the full tax since there is No miles Refund that’s my experience

  5. Federico Reply
    November 3, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    I got my yellow fever shot in Argentina 10 days before I depart to Brasilia for the WorldCup, it was not a requirement but it was recommended. Anyway since it was free in Argentina vs $130+ that could cost me in US (my health insurance didn’t cover it), I took it, after all is valid for 10 years, or until you lost your certificate.

    Keep in mind, some countries does not charge a penny for that, it doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t leave any marks/scars 😉

  6. Matthew Reply
    November 5, 2014 at 10:22 am

    @Mike S: No yellow fever card needed.

    @Dov: I value BA miles at a 1.5 cent wholesale rate (the amount I can purchase them for). That is $67.50 which is still greater than $55, even if not by much.

  7. Mike Reply
    November 30, 2015 at 2:05 am

    Can someone tell me how much it cost to get a yellow fever card in nigeria. I have been told its 800 but going up to 1200 as of December 1st. I feel I’m being scammed

  8. Matthew Reply
    November 30, 2015 at 2:46 am

    Should be absolutely no more than $100USD and more likely $50-60USD

  9. Aleks Reply
    January 25, 2017 at 9:26 am

    South Africa Reviews Yellow Fever Requirements

    Issued by the Ministry of Health
    Date: 3 February 2015

    Travelers from Zambia, Tanzania, Eritrea, Sao Tome and Principe will no longer be required to produce proof of the yellow fever certificate when coming to South Africa after they were included on the World Health Organization low risk yellow fever countries list. During the 136th session of the WHO Executive Board meeting, a review of countries with risk of yellow fever transmission and countries requiring yellow fever vaccination was conducted and based on the recommendations of the meeting, all travelers arriving into the country from these countries will NOT be required to produce proof of vaccination against yellow fever.

    The provision is with immediate effect.

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