Interesting. The UK has no State-run system for walk-in tests. They do exist, private firms, and at a substantial cost – anything up to £500. Used by people who need a test same day. The above-described LFT test scheme is “better” though, because if you really want to test yourself (e.g. meeting up with friends) free kits have been freely available by mail order (but can’t be used for travel because there is no certificate), and if you need a test for travel (which you obviously want to be NEGATIVE) then the unsupervised tests deliver that perfectly 
In a way I am glad Italy has done this because it shows they are serious about protecting their tourist business, regardless of political symbolism, whereas some other countries clearly don’t care at all. So Italy may not shut to visitors for a while, if at all. Right now we are talking mainly about skiing, where the lack of Brits will wreck a lot of the French ski resorts, especially upmarket ones (I am talking about e.g. Tignes and Courchevel, not Grand Bornand, for example). And Switzerland + Austria are gone too. Just read that Austria has closed hotels.
In Poland one can get an antigen test done for ~25 EUR, results within 15 minutes, on a piece of paper, with a stamp and signature of the tech administering the test. Supposedly the results are also stored in some central government run repository.
Switzerland has modified it’s measures today. The relevant bits for GA:
- Only ONE test is necessary prior entry (either PCR 72hr max or Antibody 24 hour max). The 2nd test 4-7 days after arrival is no longer required. Exempt are only commercial air crew and similar.
- For all inside venues, only vaccinated or recovered people are allowed (2G). Still masks and distancing apply and and food or drink must be consumed sitting down. For venues where this is not possible, an additional test is required (2G+). People who have been vaccinated or boostered less than 4 months ago do not require a test to enjoy 2G+ privileges. Under 2G+, the requirement for masks and sitting down consumption does not apply.
There are also contact limitations in force. As soon as there are unvaccinated people around, the limit for indoors is 10, for people under 2G 30.
There are more restrictions which are not relevant to GA directly.
Does this apply to Brits also (along with Martians, Mongolians, etc)? 
BTW I can see that at EGKK you can get a test while waiting for the Costa at N Terminal, and since you aren’t airside or anything like that, you can then walk out and fly GA or whatever. Cost was about £25 and about £60 for LFT and PCR respectively. I have heard of walk-in clinics charging up to £500.
Anyway, a summary of my Easyjet ski trip to Milan/Malpensa and then Cervinia:
Departing via EGKK, they checked the Italian PLF was done, and we did the LFTs required for Italy. Very quick look and could have been photoshopped. They give you this high-tech piece of paper so from then on, nothing else gets checked
In Italy, nothing gets checked. Had some fun, posted earlier, with the self-scan passport machines not supposed to work for Brits (but they do, they probably weren’t supposed to use them ).
As posted previously, the idiotic EU PLF website doesn’t work with Chrome. You have to use Firefox or Edge. Maybe the app version works better? I just dislike using a phone for anything serious because everything takes so much longer with a phone. There was no evidence that your filing of the EU PLF was ever checked by anybody – unless there is a sophisticated system behind the scenes matching up airline passenger pre-notification with the filed PLFs.
On the slopes, everything worked fine and safe. I used a FFP3 mask on any enclosed lifts but this was only once a day; the rest of the time people stick to their own group and leave you alone, and on chair lifts there was a ban on lowering the cover, so again very safe. The “green pass” (the UK vacc certificate) got scanned at cafes etc, using a phone app, but one’s ID was never checked so it was meaningless; you could have photoshopped it using anybody else’s QR code (well, prefererably of someone with same sex and plausible birth year) and as posted already there is a sizeable business producing fake certificates all over Europe. Stupid system but the only solid way would be an online database with a photo, requiring internet access, etc.
On the way back home, the UK PLF (easy enough to file, but you do need a GSM signal because the idiots send you a security code by SMS, so if you have no phone signal you may not be able to file it) and the LFT certificates were checked (we used C19 for that, as usual, £22) and they write “OK” on your boarding pass and after that you are good to fly. You could have written the “OK” yourself
Back home in the UK, no evidence yet that they are again using the “indian script monkey call centres” to harrass you, to make sure you are isolating (until the day 2 test comes back). Smarter travellers will have worked out in about 10 seconds that if they bring the PCR kits, and some free LFT kits, on the trip with them, and do the PCR test before flying back, but obviously after doing the free LFT test to make sure you are actually negative, and post the PCR test to the lab after the plane landed, they avoid the risk of getting hammered with a positive PCR due to catching CV19 on the return flight.
So, overall, a bit of a joke, with obvious workarounds (most skiers travel in groups, and if the whole group except one produces a positive LFT on the last day, the remaining skier will end up with a sore nose because he/she will have done the Day 2 PCR for the whole group ) but no actual problems with travelling and doing stuff. You throw a bit of money at it, especially with the Day 2 PCR being £75, but it’s nothing compared to the cost of ski passes, let alone the cost of any gear. So those who refuse to travel because they don’t like the various civil liberties issues are just missing out… the slopes are half empty compared to normal
If travelling by GA, it would be simpler. No checks on departure at either airport (never have been any, anywhere; only airlines do those). On arrival you will prob99 get checked for the country’s entry requirements – because the police at those airports have nothing to do all day. In general it helps to email your test certs to the airport, before you fly; IME it smoothes things. Of course the flight will be 100% virus safe – if you ask any passengers to do an LFT beforehand, which frankly any responsible person should be doing anyway before meeting up with a group of friends etc. Currently LFT or PCR for Italy, although I now see this also
No idea where to find these additional requirements.
On weekdays – best time to travel, except no “cheap” ski shuttles running – the Easyjet flights were running at 10-20% load. Very comfortable, but the cost of this economic disaster will take decades to pay back, but that has been done to death on the other thread.
A change in Italy – fortunately not significant
Peter wrote:
n
You can bank on the restrictions in Italy being in line with the rest of Europe on UK travellers post Christmas/New Year. They have already implemented the Super Green Pass https://italygreenpass.com/what-is-the-super-green-pass-for-holidays-in-italy/ and have now extended the state of emergency until March 15th (was initially Jan 15) a clear indication of what is to come.
I am trying to work out what this means. It states
The Super Green Pass will be in effect starting December 6, 2021 through March 31, 2022.
but
So maybe airline travel + skiing + shopping does not need the SGP? Maybe it applies to museums etc?
EDIT: I think I have worked it out. The PDF is here and the parts relevant to vaccinated people are
which is funny since there was no issue at all getting into the 1st of the above 3. If implemented strictly, it would mean self-catering only, or staying in hotels which have a restaurant closed to outsiders.
Skiing is ok:
However, I am unable to work out what it is about the SGP which a 2x vacced UK visitor (and most will be 3x vacced) does not meet.
Unvacced people basically can’t go anywhere, beyond driving their car locally.
Peter wrote:
However, I am unable to work out what it is about the SGP which a 2x vacced UK visitor (and most will be 3x vacced) does not meet.
Absolutely nothing at the moment, the key is in the at the moment. ’’rumours’’ are the UK will go on the Red list post the Christmas Holidays. The extension of the state of emergency is to allow for that.
Italy’s COVID infection rate is lower than other Western European countries, including the UK, France and Germany. But with around 20,000 new cases a day and rising, it is also tightening domestic measures to get a grip on the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Last night, Italian ministers voted to extend the country’s State of Emergency until 31 March 2022.
This means that both the national government and regional authorities will retain their powers to impose new laws at short notice if the health situation demands stricter measures.
What would the red list implementation be for the UK?
A PCR test, or an actual quarantine?
The funny thing is that if you travel in by car, you can tell anybody anything you like about how long you spent where you came from Same with airline travellers; if if you go to the UK from say Nigeria, and go via say Munich, nobody will ask you about whether you really came from Munich – if you have a self scan passport.
I wonder if someone in Italy knows the answers to the above?
This is new, for Italy:
