Chickenpox recovery fit-to-fly certificate

After purchase, we will provide you with your unique certificate booking reference number, which will allow you to upload your medical evidence.

Once uploaded, our doctors will review your evidence on the same day (between 9am and 9pm GMT, 7 days a week) – they may call you if they have any questions.

Once validated, we will send your fit-to-fly certificate to you by email and SMS.

Your eligibility to change or cancel a flight due to chickenpox will differ depending on the company you are flying with. It is always important to check refund and cancellation terms before booking a flight.

Some airlines will allow booking changes due to illness if you can provide medical proof of your condition, such as a ‘Not Fully Recovered’ or ‘Not Fit-to-Fly’ letter. When applying for a fit to fly letter for chicken pox, if our doctors determine that you are not fully recovered from your condition then they will supply a certificate of proof that you can show your airline to evidence your condition.

Chicken pox are relatively easy to diagnose, and most doctors will be able to confirm whether you have chicken pox based on a visual examination. For this reason, ZoomDoc’s doctors can usually diagnose a patient with chicken pox or confirm a chicken pox recovery with a simple video diagnosis.

Once your chicken pox has been diagnosed you can get a medical letter that confirms recovery, or one that confirms the condition is still present, which can be used as evidence for a variety of reasons such as work or travel.

A chicken pox fit- to-fly certificate is a letter that confirms your chicken pox has scabbed over, and no longer pose a risk of infecting others.

Chicken pox can be highly contagious, and as such it is paramount that you confirm you no longer pose an infection risk if you are about to be in close proximity with other people, such as on a flight or at work.

Chicken pox is highly contagious, and can even pose an infection risk up to 2 days before a rash appears. If your child has chickenpox then you should contact your workplace immediately to confirm their policy, as you may also be able to infect others even if there are no visual signs you have chicken pox.

Most airlines will not let you board with active chickenpox, because the virus is contagious and spreads easily in a closed cabin. You can usually fly once every spot has fully scabbed over, no new spots are appearing, and you are no longer infectious. This is typically around 5 to 7 days after the last new spot appears.

Because cabin crew cannot assess this at the gate, most airlines ask for a fit to fly certificate from a doctor confirming you are no longer contagious.

There is no single fixed number, because airlines count from the last new spot rather than the first, and the rash can keep producing new spots for several days. As a general guide, most carriers ask you to wait until all spots have crusted over, which is usually around 5 to 7 days after the final spot appears. British Airways and Etihad commonly use a 6 day count, while easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, TUI and Virgin Atlantic more often use 7 days. Always check your specific airline, and get a fit to fly certificate to confirm you are no longer infectious.

Usually not. Airlines require every lesion to be dry and crusted before travel, because unscabbed blisters mean the person may still be infectious. If your spots have not fully scabbed and your flight is close, contact us before ordering. Our doctors can review your evidence and advise whether a certificate can be issued, and if not, what wording your airline or insurer may accept in the meantime.

Yes. The certificate is issued for the specific person travelling, so each child who has had chickenpox needs their own certificate confirming their spots have scabbed over and they are no longer infectious. ZoomDoc issues certificates for both children and adults. You upload a short video showing the scabbed-over spots and complete the health questionnaire for each person travelling.

ZoomDoc issues certificates with an average turnaround of around 1 hour during operating hours, 7 days a week. Upload a short video showing the scabbed-over spots and complete the health questionnaire, and your GMC-registered doctor will review it and send your digital PDF certificate by email the same day. If you have a flight within the next day or two, you can apply straight away without booking a GP appointment.

ZoomDoc certificates are signed by GMC-registered UK doctors, include the doctor's GMC registration number, and carry a QR code that airline staff can scan to verify authenticity. This meets the standard fit to fly requirements of most major airlines. Some carriers use their own specific medical form or wording. If yours does, contact us before ordering so our doctors can complete the correct form alongside the certificate.

A fit to fly certificate confirms your current medical status, so if you have been exposed but have no symptoms, a doctor can assess whether you are fit to travel. Be aware that some airlines apply restrictions to non-immune passengers who have recently been in close contact with chickenpox, because symptoms can still develop during the incubation period. Contact us with your travel dates and we will advise on the best option for your situation.

Both are caused by the same virus, and both are infectious while blisters are present and weeping. For flying, the same principle applies: you are generally considered fit to travel once the rash has fully crusted over and you are no longer contagious, with a doctor's letter confirming this. Shingles tends to take longer to scab than chickenpox. If you have shingles rather than chickenpox, tell us when you apply so the certificate uses the correct wording.

Yes. If you or someone on your booking is diagnosed with chickenpox before travel, you should tell your insurer, because non-disclosure can invalidate a claim. If you are able to travel with a fit to fly certificate, that document supports your position. If you have to cancel because you are unfit to travel, you will usually need a separate letter stating you were unfit to fly, which is a different document to a fit to fly certificate.

Yes. NHS GPs are not obliged to provide fit to fly letters, and many decline or cannot see you quickly enough before travel. ZoomDoc's GMC-registered doctors issue chickenpox fit to fly certificates entirely online, with no appointment and no waiting room. The process takes minutes to start and your certificate is typically issued within around 1 hour.

Yes. The whole process is online, so you can apply from anywhere in the world. You upload a short video showing the scabbed-over spots and complete the questionnaire, and your digital certificate is emailed to you. You do not need to be in the UK to apply.

You provide the name and date of birth of the person travelling, a short video clearly showing the spots have scabbed over, and answers to a short health questionnaire covering when the rash started and whether any new spots are still appearing. If your airline has given you a specific form or wording, upload that too so the doctor can address it.