Arrival/Departure Information

Coach transport to/from airport

Once you have given us your flight details, we can arrange coach transport to and from the group’s arrival airport. The airports which are easiest to use are Leeds Bradford (30 miles), Manchester (85 miles) and London Heathrow (210 miles). If the group’s flight will arrive at London Heathrow Airport, we recommend that coach or rail transport is arranged to pick the group up or drop them off at Heathrow rather than scheduling a connecting flight to/from a regional airport closer to York. Due to the large size of London Heathrow, it often takes longer than the two hours recommended on Heathrow Airport’s website for groups to travel between terminals in order to catch a connecting flight. The journey time by coach between York and Heathrow Airport is about six hours each way.

Arrangements with coach company

Our staff will have the name and mobile number of the designated coach driver, regardless of whether a member of Short Courses staff has been asked to accompany the group to/from the airport. We will email to you in advance the coach company’s contact information (telephone number and email address) and the driver’s name and mobile phone number. We will also make you aware of the time and place where the coach will meet the students.

In the event of any mishap or change to timing, the coach driver will make a member of our staff aware and we will help to resolve any issues and will keep you updated. We will let you know if there are any changes to arrangements and will be in touch to let you know once the group has safely arrived/departed.

The two coach companies whom we regularly use are:

Thornes
Anytime

Accompanying member of Short Courses staff to and/or from airport (optional extra)

Arrival

We can arrange for a member of Short Courses staff to greet students at the airport on their arrival. The staff member will be wearing a red shirt with ‘Centre for Global Programmes’ written on it and they will be holding up a sign with the students’ home institution listed. This member of staff’s mobile phone number will have been given to the lead student(s)/chaperone before the group’s travel date so that the lead student(s) or group chaperone can get in touch if there are any changes to their planned journey. It is therefore very important that the lead student or chaperone also has a mobile phone which is switched on and can be used in the UK with them on arrival. We will ask you to provide the mobile number of the lead student/chaperone in the arrival form.

What will the accompanying member of Short Courses staff do?

Our staff member will ensure that each member of the group is accounted for, as well as their luggage.
They will support the student/s on reporting their luggage if it does not arrive. For more details see student instructions on lost or delayed luggage.
They will assist with purchasing a SIM card for a mobile phone at the airport if necessary.
They will support the students if any issues arise, i.e lost passport or wallet etc.
They will keep CGP and host families aware of any delays.

Departure

If desired, the staff member can accompany the group on the coach from the York to your chosen airport.

What will the accompanying member of Short Courses staff do?

Help students with check in.
Argue on their behalf if the plane is oversubscribed and the airline wants to spilt the group.
Help deal with any other issues that might arise.

Arrival in York

Another staff member will meet the group on their arrival in York and introduce the students to their host families or familiarise them with their alternative accommodation. For more details see Meet and Greet.

Airport instructions for accompanying member of Short Courses Staff:

If a member of Short Courses staff accompanies the students to or from the airport, they will take the following course of action in the situation below. Generally, the accompanying member of staff will be one of our Social Mentors. The Responsible Short Courses Staff Member mentioned below, refers to a member of the admin or senior management team.

What to do if the following happens:

Situation	Course of action
A student loses their luggage	They should complete a lost luggage form, they may have done this before they can exit the terminal in to the arrivals hall Please let the Responsible Short Courses Staff Member know as soon as possible Please let the coach driver know
A student has lost a phone, passport etc	If the loss happened inside the airport terminal, they should report the lost property to the airport authorities, they may need you to help them do this Please let the coach driver know Please let the Responsible Short Courses Staff Member know
You arrive at the airport to help a group check in and the airline tells the students that they cannot all go on the same flight because it is oversubscribed	Try to argue the case for the students, that their English is low level and that they are nervous and would prefer to stay as a group If that doesn’t work and the airline insists that some people don’t fly, try to get 2 or 3 students to travel together on the next flight (the worse case would be if all the group travel on the planned flight and one student gets left behind on their own) Please contact the Responsible Short Courses Staff Member as soon as you can so they can help and guide you