That was the headlines. Alas, no. Test OR Vaccination. So why not say so?
The headlines said that the test req was going to be extended from airports to road and rail but it was not clear whether the test was going to be necessary for vaccinated people.
Once the rule actually came out it was made very clear that vac people were exempt, pretty much across all media (or all media i am following).
Italy mandates a 5 day quarantine for British arrivals, until 30 August
This is a mystery given the numbers here going down so fast.
Presumably spending 5 days in say Croatia beforehand will solve that? OTOH our Sicily fly-in is still 5 weeks away.
Peter wrote:
stops most people travelling, without travel being formally banned
You know what? That would be better. Travel like this is simply unbearable.
I went to do check in the day before. The queues were epic. Initially I was told 4 hours waiting time, but sorry, check in closes at 2200 so who ever is not checked in by then, come back in the morning. Well, it went faster. I got to the desk about 3 hours after queuing up and with one hour to go to closing.
Now: Bulgaria has changed their rules yesterday. Consequently the airline I am flying updated their instructions. BG operates on green, yellow and red. The airline however lists every country in their instructions, only they totally forgot the green countries. They are just not listed!
So I was told, we do not have instructions for Swiss citizens going to Bulgaria, so sorry, can’t accept you. As I had read the file they have (it is public on their website) I managed to convince him on the grounds that I am a family member of a BG citizen, which are also exempt from ban from all the other restrictions he had on his screen and that there was a line saying that people from Switzerland who show a EU vaccination document OR A DOC WITH SIMILAR content are exempt from quarantine.
So I got checked in finally, but do not have the ADOK remark on the bording pass from Frankfurt to Sofia. Will see what happens tomorrow.
As for job creation, not really, at least not at the airport. These are regular check in staff, well trained folks who are also stressed out to the breaking point. Fact is, with this kind of total confusion in place, aviation can’t function.
The last time I’ve seen Zurich so totally overwhelmed was in the Yugoslavia Crisis in 1991. I will need to show up at 4 am for my 7 departure to make sure that I pass security on time…. Even though they should work normally. Then go to the gate and see what Checkport thinks of the Bulgarian entry requirements…. I’ve now printed out the order of the Bulgarian government. Maybe this helps.
T28 wrote:
Once the rule actually came out it was made very clear that vac people were exempt, pretty much across all media (or all media i am following).
If the media had listened even before, Seehofer said that clearly. Also that the rules for flying were unchanged but the others would be adapted to those in place for aviation.
What poisons the industry right now is the constant changing and pencil written rules. What is true today, changes tomorrow. It is impossible for the airlines to plan anything like this and many passengers will simply refrain from travelling like this. We are not in Africa for heaven’s sake!
Good luck tomorrow Mooney_Driver
Merci mon Capitaine.
I sure as hell need it.. .
then again… aviation based on luck???
Made it onto the first leg by being there 2 hours prior departure. Check on is hopelessly overcrowded so would not have stood chance. We are currently missing about 1/3rd of our booked pax.
I did not have a moment to spare. Printing out the order of the Bulgarian Health Ministry saved the day at the gate as they also were confused at IATAs interpretation which has simply forgotten to mention how to deal.with people who originate in a green classified country.
So all in all 5 hours waiting and huge aggravation for a simple inner European flight. And we are massively late. Hopefully the connection works.i only have 2 hours in FRA
Why not just drive?
Frankfurt works with usual precision. Fast and no hassle. There is hope for the airline industry yet…
Oh and I am told IATA has amended its file for Bulgaria…
Why not just drive?
Crosses even more borders. Amongst them Serbia which requires testing by everyone. Takes about 3 days to get to where I need to go. Twice.
Does anyone here know of any cases where a GA inbound flight was checked whether it had been to some “prohibited” countries within the previous x days?
If the police were really smart, they could get FR24 tracks for the aircraft and start a line of questioning from there. Of course it would not actually prove anything because it doesn’t say who was on that plane.
FWIW, I have never heard of any such checks. And it appears routine for people coming to the UK (by airline, or especially by road) to simply arrive from an “ok country” and lie about where they have been.
