Fly me to the Moon - your 3rd travel Megathread - read OP

dmrules

Hi guys, just to clarify , we are flying to London tomorrow for day and a half , brother in law is not vaccinated , had covid 3 weeks ago, has a cert . He is taking PCR today but was told it will probably be a positive one. Will he be allowed on the plane in London with that? thanks

stephenjmcd

Should be but probably best to get an antigen

In situations where a person is unable to provide evidence of a negative ('not detected') RT-PCR test due to a persistently positive RT-PCR test after recovery, then proof of a negative/’not detected’ antigen test and proof of recovery will be accepted

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/77952-government-advice-on-international-travel/

Bombaby1974

Just back from UK yesterday afternoon.

Got my PCR test done in GoSafe48 in Ballycoolin on Thursday afternoon to give me the 72 hours before I flew.

On the return home, at the boarding gate there was one person checking PCR tets and vaccination status then a second checking teh usual boarding pass and Passport. All good.

On arrival in Dublin, passport wouldnt scan in the machine so had to go to the referral desk and everything checked again, including passenger locator form.

Did an Antigen test as soon as I arrived home to be on the safe side. All good thankfully as the mask rules seem to be relaxed to say the least in UK.

Man in fron of me was sent back at the passport gate to get an Angigen test and come back with the results, not sure what that was about as he owuld have been checked when boarding.

I was thrilled though because he and his mate were being obnoxious feckers on the plane.

wonka

Flew back to Cork from Alicante yesterday. Got a €30 Antigen test on saturday - spit into a tube, 5 mins later - negative, cert sent to my email. At the boarding gate then yesterday, a Ryanair person was going through the queue looking for the vaccine cert and the antigen test - giving you a piece of paper with a number on it. This piece of paper was then taken off me at the boarding gate. On arrival in cork, just the passport and passenger locator form.

Carol25

Question...family member due to fly from Sydney through Abu Dhabi into London in mid December, then on into Ireland two days later. They are fully vaccinated. Looking at the U.K. guidelines, will they need to take a PCR test in London, and then a pre departure antigen test for travel onwards to Ireland?

Supposed to be going to Val D'Isere next week but looks like I will have to cancel.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118277266#Comment_118277266

Why?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118277270#Comment_118277270

Flying into Geneva. Issues with PCR, some members of our chalet backed out.

random_banter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118277292#Comment_118277292

Also planning to go to Val next week. Current plan is to get a Randox PCR to allow for travel to Geneva - they allow onward transit now into France with no further restriction.

There is a test centre in Val and in Tignes. They do Certified Lateral Flow / Antigen tests which work for return to Ireland (if you are vaccinated). The online booking facility for the centre in Val opens on the 9th, afaik.

This is all still theoretical - putting off booking flights but accom is already paid for and non-refundable. The other half doesn't want to risk stranding in France and am in two minds about traveling on my own (for safety/security reasons).

The new rules are doing what they are designed to do. Put people off travelling without opening the govt up to any liability from travel operators. Cancelling is all at your own expense.

elbyrneo

Apologies if answered already but couldnt see. Have a day trip (same day return flights) to England early January. Fully vaccinated adult and two kids (not vaccinated) under 12.

Appears GB don't enforce testing if travelling from ireland, but, Ireland do for 12 and overs...

So for return trip, looks like I need either an approved antigen test 48hours before travel (or PCR test 72 hours prior)

As it's a day trip and we have limited time, am thinking I'll do the test here in Ireland. Is that allowed?

Which when you think about it, makes absolutely no sense as it's just saying I was ok when I left the country, not when I return, and proves absolutely nothing related to my travel and what I might have been exposed to.

Is there any day trip advice out there?

Thanks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118277292#Comment_118277292

Geneva airport solved the issue of landing on the Swiss side when travelling to France. But pity that some of your party backed out

Father Hernandez

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118277373#Comment_118277373

I've just done a day trip and no issue getting antigen test (negative) the day before departing Dublin.

Makes no sense but not a lot of rules these days do.

trellheim

The regulations have not yet been published ! Without them we are just casting around in the dark :(

bohsfan

Personal experience. Flew to Paris on Friday- no problems this end. Had to show our digital certificate, that was it. Returned from Paris today.

We got a PCR about 70 hours out. Booked online. Smooth process. Had our results within 12 hours and issued with a French version of the digital pass. They were checking vaccination certificates at the boarding gate. I could see some people walking to the side and on their phones. Trying to load their test result to the App maybe?

Im not sure what would have happened had we just displayed out Irish Digital Cert of vaccination. Might have been alright altho they might have pushed for the test result. I don't know.

We toyed with our decision to go or not until the last minute. We are glad we went, but it was risk for sure. I would understand why others would not travel. Which is the whole point of these type of measures I suppose, put people off

pcasso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118276318#Comment_118276318

Was there much checking of the arrivals from Ireland on the UK side and if there was did they cause much in the way of delays?

I am due over at the weekend and am on a tight schedule to catch a train so I am concerned that there might be some hold ups arriving into the UK. I know that normally it is seamless without any checks of ID etc but I would imagine British authorities have to check that passengers are arriving from the common travel area and not using it to fly back from elsewhere and avoid their quarantine requirements.

mayogeezer123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278369#Comment_118278369

Was over in the UK at the weekend and no checks going over, it’s normal so no delays, on the way back they were checking at the gate for negative test, only took seconds and then you went on to board the plane, few people didn’t have the Negative test so weren’t let on the plane and were brought off to get tests in the airport and then they would get a flight back to Dublin later in the day. No checks in dublin airport for any documents although I used the self unmanned passport check machine

pcasso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278511#Comment_118278511

Thanks for the reply. I have loads of time coming back so not worried about that. It's just on arrival in the UK that I am under time pressure and was concerned that there would be checks leading to delays. Fingers crossed.

stargazer 68

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278530#Comment_118278530

Arrived from the UK this afternoon. Everything checked before boarding. Still took off on time with a full flight. Everything checked again this side. No issues that I could see with anyone.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278530#Comment_118278530

You still go through the domestic arrivals channel in the UK so no checks, passport or Covid

(unless you are very unlucky and they’re doing something random - they occasionally do, so as to check that no one is coming from a red list country via ireland, but it’s pretty efficient when it does happen)

Do you need an antigen/PCR test to fly from Scotland to N.I? ex colleague parent just died and is frantically trying to get back to Ireland. Not time for antigen test and would like to get home this evening. But rules are a bit confusing with terms like "should".

Happydays2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118277266#Comment_118277266

Why?

Happydays2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118279450#Comment_118279450

I don’t think so.

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-travelling-within-common-travel-area

frash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118279743#Comment_118279743

People have their reasons for cancelling

I'm due in Lisbon next weekend with the wife & 4 kids but we're not going.

Not worth the risk of one of us failing the return antigen test and being stuck over there. Having to find accommodation & get a new flight after possibly a couple of weeks if you developed Covid until you got a clear antigen / PCR.

All this coming up to xmas.

Happydays2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282160#Comment_118282160

Fair enough. I know the risk - just frustration that people are having to cancel arrangements.

frash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282176#Comment_118282176

Yeap - it's a pain in the hole

We were supposed to to to Germany to the xmas markets but they changed the rules that under 12s had to quarantine for 5 days - we were only going for 3.

Managed to get a free flight change with Ryanair & so Lisbon looked like a safe enough option but then they decided the over 12s needed antigen tests (even though all vaccinated) and then Ireland followed suit.

Can't change the flights again without the fee so lost money there.

Never booked the Lisbon accommodation but lost money on the German one.

Thought we'd treat ourselves with a trip - haven't been abroad since Summer 2019

Bombaby1974

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118278369#Comment_118278369

There were no checks at all going from Dublin to UK, just the usual boarding pass etc. All checks were from UK to IRL.

Wasn't much of a delay coming back as the they had someone going through the queue UK side checking vaccines and test results as well as someone on the desk checking the same and also boarding passes etc.

tina1040

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118275734#Comment_118275734

Would those free antigen tests work for travel?

pcasso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282729#Comment_118282729

So there were no checks on the UK side after getting off the plane.

I assumed there would be some checks and therefore delays by UK authorities to ensure that the common travel area rules were being respected.

Looks like I should be okay once my flight is on time

Thanks for your reply.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282989#Comment_118282989

You just go through the domestic channel as normal. There have been a couple of times in the period since the advent of the UK’s red list that when has been a passport stamp check in that domestic channel to make sure no one is transiting through Ireland from a red country (both times they caught a few people and carted them off to MHQ) but that’s just on a random basis and you’d have to be very unlucky. Even when it was there, it ran smoothly as is only one flight at a time

bikeman1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282989#Comment_118282989

In my experience the UK Police review the flight's passenger list and pull the person aside on arrival in the UK. I've had a passport / ID check. I have also seen them looking for a particular passenger coming off a flight to check everything was in order. I would assume it is similar with Covid and the back door route so to speak.