Sign inNew UK border bureaucracy robs conference of its star speaker
Dr. H. Gustav “Gus” Mueller is an audiology great, and for many professionals one of the teaching gods that formed their knowledge and habits as they went into practice. Being able to see him on a rare UK appearance was a treat to look forward to, but his planned in-person presentation this month was impeded by his not meeting new international travel rules introduced by the UK.
The stage was set for a keenly awaited guest speaker, in fact the star of the show, Dr. Gus Mueller – a name familiar to most audiologists, and sacred to many. His teachings are legendary.
But Dr. Mueller’s arrival at the UK’s biggest audiology event did not happen. A packed auditorium at the British Academy of Audiology’s (BAA) 21st Annual Conference was about to welcome him to deliver the opening presentation, the prestigious Adrian Davis Lecture.
A slide from Dr. Mueller’s pre-recorded presentation on misconceptions in hearing aid fittings.
Photo: PW
Then came the disappointing announcement by BAA President Claire Benton, inaugurating the event, that because of a visa problem the hundreds present had to be content with a hastily pre-recorded video of Mueller’s presentation on Common misconceptions related to the selection and fitting of hearing aids.
It was not technically a visa problem that stymied the academic’s visit, but his failure to procure a new digital permission to travel, one similar to the ESTA permission used for years by the USA. The new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which is for visitors who do not require a visa for short stays, is a scheme that is being rolled out in phases in the UK, in 2025 catching nationals from the USA, Canada, Australia, and European countries in its net.
Is this requirement being communicated well? Ask around about the ETA and you’ll probably find few people are aware of it or do not know if they will need it for their next trip. Some people will think you’re talking about the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, which was dissolved in 2018.
The ETA you’ll need to get on a plane is not a requirement most people know about until they travel, and even then it seems largely left to airlines to make travellers aware of it. In other words, lost in the maze of seat prices, car rentals, hotel possibilities, and all the other extra puff on sites where you book your tickets, and the apps that so often fail you, the small print could be the difference between being allowed to fly or not.
Dr. Mueller was not allowed to fly, though he had every intention of doing so, and had gone to the airport under the common misconception for travellers that all the bureaucracy for the flight was in order. It must be happening to more people, though not all will leave a packed auditorium disappointed by their absence.
To borrow from Mueller’s own presentation pitch: in international air travel, “we all have hundreds of stored-away beliefs that we use for making numerous decisions. Where did we get these beliefs?”
We all need to store away the belief that the powers that be are not going to make travelling easier, but harder for us. So if you are flying around from country to country, find out whether you need an ETA to come in or get back to the UK.
