Coronavirus: Please use this thread for all COVID19 talk!

Fair one mate. I'd not long woken from a nap so likely did misread/interpret so my apologies!

I'm gonna leave it there anyway. There's a reason I've not posted in this thread this year and I'm suddenly remembering it!

 

Really interested to read these comments about foreign travel. I went to Qatar last month but had to pay £125 for a PCR test 48 hours before I left. I assumed that this was 2 day's grace but it literally meant 48 hours and I thought that they would not let me fly because I would have landed 12 hours after the point of expiration. After checking with a seniormanager, I was allowed to board the plane. I was informed by Qatar Airlines that I might be turned around and sent back as soon as I landed. Ultimately, they only checked that I had 3 vacinations when I landed whereas nationals from Asia were being very thoroughly scrutinised. It was far more rigorous in Heathrow than in Doha airport but the experience will make me extremely cautious when I go out again in September.

The rules for getting in to Qatar and the amount of form filling was extensive and I must have spent the best part of a day dealing with this. There is an app your can get on your phone called "Ehteraz" which was supposed to assist and I did fill forms in to get fast-tracked through customs. This was time first time I have been outside of Europe and I think Qatar airlines are really good but the the customs are what I would describe as "uneven." I had checked and double checked everything in my paperwork before I left but I was shocked just how rigorous they were with forms and maybe more thorough than with the way Heathrow dealt with people flying in to the UK.

I don't think I have been so nervous about travelling as when I went to Qatar. Most of my holidays have been in France which was a formality before Brexit. What was odd was that the close proximity of everyone on the airliner would probably have facilitated the spread of Covid. Anyone hoping to go to the World Cup will need to be prepared as the paperwork is comprehensive.

 

Mrs Jab flew Etihad to Indonesia transiting in Abu Dhabi. She unloaded her covid cert and insurance declaration to their verified to fly program which sped her through bag drop, no long queue for checks, No need for a test. Similar coming back from Jakarta. Hoping for as easy trip when we both go with Singapore airlines in September. So far as I understand certs are needed on the domestic flights and trains we'll be using.