Thanks for the info!!
I have a new data point from a trip to Croatia and Greece. Got met by the police (they 100% meet all foreign arrivals here at EGKA – must cost the taxpayer a fortune).
As reported previously, the police either have no access to the content of the PLF, or they aren’t interested in it. So you could use an exemption that you are the Pope, the head of the Vatican, and travelling on State business. So no day 2 etc tests needed; they would be triggered by the PLF only, not by the GAR.
The “pre return to the UK” test is not checked at all. No interest.
The GAR is 100% checked as always. But another data point, from a nameless pilot, is that if you file no GAR and no PLF, nobody notices your arrival. That is quite interesting; I have for ages suspected that the police merely look for the GAR, not at inbound flight plans.
A further data point, from an airline passenger arriving at Gatwick, is that the pre return test is examined, before boarding, as a quick look at some document displayed on your phone (presumably the certificate from the rapid test vendor) and that’s it. When you get off the plane at Gatwick, nobody looks at anything. OTOH, for airline passengers, the PLF has already been automatically filed, no?
And finally Greece is changing the test requirements – here although (a badly worded article) it appears to be for unvacced people only who will now need a test (and a certificate) for any internal “bulk” travel (plane or bus). In fact unvacced people are practically banned from closed spaces in Greece.
I have for ages suspected that the police merely look for the GAR, not at inbound flight plans.
This is not my personal experience.
I have met Border Force staff who explain that they spend time matching up flight plans and GAR forms. I have had a couple of calls from BF asking for details of my GAR form – once prior to return flight where the form went astray and more recently when arriving from a different airport due to weather diversion. In both cases amicably resolved over the phone with followup email. They must have seen my flight plan first and not found the matching GAR.
I think the UK GAR system is one of the country’s significant benefits, adding a lot of flexibility for both points of departure/arrival and timing. Not nearly as convenient as EU freedom of movement of course but the next best thing.
I do actually agree; what I was getting at is that I think the GAR is what triggers the process of looking for your flight plan. They look at the FP, and definitely at FR24, to work out what time they should drive down to meet you.
UKBF called me once to say I sent VFR FPL but no GAR while eating lunch in France, they asked to re-send it by email on their branch address, I was not the only guy on their plate that day, everybody who went to LeTouquet from NorthWeald and send his GAR using some funky Govt website that was recently introduced got that call from “Sierra”, some after they have landed back, it was a busy day 
The next week someone from that Govt website sent an apologies email to half of UK pilots cc’ed with visible emails…
Interesting debate re the UK pre return tests, whether the outfit which sold you the test and which wants a photo of it to issue the certificate, is checking the EXIF data.
It appears that they clearly are not, since telegram and whatsapp strip off EXIF but the photo is still accepted, so you could use a photo (of a test purchased from them in case they are checking the QR code of the actual package) taken at any earlier date/time 
It’s staggering how many holes there are in this system and how it relies on ignorance of technology and on mass media not publishing this information.
The UK is scrapping the pre-return-to-UK test (which never affected GA because no system was set up to check it; it was implemented by airlines and presumably on things like Eurostar and ferries) and replacing the Day 2 PCR test with the rapid lateral-flow test. Here.
So you can now (very soon) do a trip abroad for the cost of a quick test which, being DIY, is a complete farce anyway for anyone with any braincells (see post immediately above).
FWIW, I’ve just heard that the certificate for the above test is generated and emailed back to the traveller within a second of him emailing the photo of the test So it is indeed a complete and total farce. The company in question is one of the few who are not crooks or criminals: C19 sell it for £29. It’s not a bad business model: sell a £1 kit for £29 and set up a server to auto-respond to an email :mile:
I did my last departure test at Lille train station in one of the tents where it was offered for free but I was in a hurry, so I hastily asked the lady how long it will take? she said: just file this online form we will send you an SMS/email later with the results, I was nervous as my previous nose swab experiences were really painful, I closed my eyes and I had no idea how far it was pushed in my nose, I did not feel anything this time, as I was running late I asked about the result, she told me not to worry it will be a quick SMS/email and negative
No one checked my certificate on arrival…
If testing is really done in such a fake way, then no wonder nothing ever changes in this pandemic. It certainly doesn’t work like this here, the 2 tests I had to do in Summer were done properly, with results within 15 minutes in writing at the front desk (Antibody tests).
In the end it will burn down to this: Vaccinated people with the corresponding certificate will have a life much as before the pandemic, everyone else will experience more and more hassle until most eventually cave in and get the jab. Of course, in an intelligent society with less tin-foil-hat morons, we cound have been there in July this year.
Countries which have 80% and more vaccination rate now are in the position to basically stop the measures for the most part. Those where 30-40% throw tantrums will continue to linger in this misery for the forseeable future.
They say Moderna is working on a booster shot which will include the flu vaccine here in Switzerland (they produce in the Valais). It should become available in November. Pfizer apparently also works on this. If a booster is needed, that would be a rather good variant I think.
