ABTA, the body representing tour operators and travel agents, is attempting to clarify the position with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, which are reportedly turning away travellers suspected of carrying the H1N1 virus.

Spokesman Jonathan French said standard travel insurance packages would not cover the loss if people are refused entry.

He said: “If the airline decides that people who have bought tickets to travel with them are not fit to travel on their plane, then it’s the airline’s responsibility to provide refunds.

“But travel insurance isn’t there to cover the whims of airlines.

“It is there to cover people who have been diagnosed with something before they go, or to cover the cost of medical treatment if they become ill abroad.”

BA has reportedly issued instructions to its check-in staff to look out for passengers showing symptoms of the H1N1 virus and to alert doctors if they have concerns.

Virgin Atlantic was said to have adopted similar measures, prompting fears that hundreds of holidaymakers with seasonal colds and flus could be barred from boarding aircraft.

However, BA said the coverage had been “misleading”, adding that the situation was “business as usual”.

“It’s not the case that we are screening passengers,” a spokesman said. “If we have concerns, or a customer is concerned, then staff can access our 24-hour medical service which can give advice to them.

“The medical service will speak to the customer and an assessment will be made about their fitness to fly.

“But the crucial point is, that’s a procedure we’ve had in place for many, many years and across a huge range of medical conditions. It’s not new and it’s not specific to H1N1.”

He added that “less than a handful” of passengers had been advised against flying since the outbreak began in April, and insisted that travel insurance would pick up the tab for anyone who had to cancel their trip due to ill health.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said where passengers had a non-refunadable ticket, “every effort” would be made to secure the passenger a place on the next available flight at no extra cost.

She said the company’s policy on swine flu was “based on our usual policy for communicable viruses or diseases”.

“We would not carry anyone that we suspected of carrying swine flu,” she said.

“But anyone who was unwell with any sort of disease, obviously if we didn’t think they were fit to travel we would suggest they seek assistance from their doctor or we could call on our medical team.

“The policy has been the same since the outbreak of swine flu began, we’re just reiterating it.”

ABTA, which represents 5300 travel agencies and nearly 1000 tour operators said only a “tiny” number of passengers were likely to have their journeys thwarted by airlines’ flu virus crackdown.

“In terms of whether there would be large numbers being pulled aside at airports, it’s very unlikely,” he said.

“People at airlines are not doctors, they’re not quizzing everyone getting on the plane. They will target people who are showing very clear symptoms.”

He added that as long as passengers had taken out travel insurance well in advance of contracting swine flu, they had nothing to worry about.

“It’s a straightforward insurance claim,” he said.

‘I’d be annoyed if they didn’t let me board’

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Passengers at Scotland’s busiest airport appeared confused yesterday after Virgin and BA moved to stop people from travelling who show symptoms of swine flu.

If they are showing classic flu symptoms such as coughs, runny noses, and aching muscles, the

passengers must carry a “fit to fly” certificate from their doctor in order to be allowed on the plane.

As holidaymakers at Glasgow Airport prepared to take off for warmer climes, some described it as a worthwhile measure to limit the spread of the H1N1 infection that is sweeping the world. However, other people described it as “scaremongering.”

Teacher Marie Wegelin, 52, who lives in Switzerland, but is originally from Bearsden in Glasgow, said: “The media attention the swine flu situation receives in Britain is ridiculous. I say stop the scaremongering and start teaching people basic hygiene.”

Advertising executive Alan Donaldson, 42, who is also from Bearsden, but who lives in Sydney, where Virgin and BA fly to and from the UK, said: “It’s obviously expensive for me to travel back home. I would be annoyed if they didn’t let me board a flight just because I was coughing.

“However, I would also hate to think that I was sitting next to someone all the way to Sydney who had the virus. So it’s a Catch-22 situation.”

Management consultant Ross Tuffee, 42, from Perth, is certain that the latest news is just the beginning of heightened restrictions on travel as the virus spreads.

He said: “It will inevitably get to the point where the virus is so widespread that these types of restrictions will be necessary. This is the impression I get, although sometimes it’s hard to tell how much is just media hype.”

Other families with young children, who are among the most vulnerable should they suffer from the virus, are unsure of what steps they should be taking before setting out to the airport.

Civil servant Sharon Collins, 41, from Summerston, Glasgow, said: “My daughter has a cold just

now but we know it isn’t swine flu. It does make us much more paranoid when travelling because the

guidelines are a bit haphazard and we don’t know

what to do one way or another.”