šŸ˜· COVID - Covid Tests to take a flight

Do I need tests to take a flight?
Are they requiring this at the airport?

If it makes any difference: flying to Canada (I hope).

Iā€™m thinking about it I get in flight too without test. On arrival in Europe I just say Iā€™m in transit direct way outā€¦

I will be flying to Cyprus via Austria, Cyprus is fine with test on arrival. Austria notā€¦

Guess after to just get a 5000ntd Test here. Still crazy expensive Vs 950ntd PCR test pricing in Cyprus now.

And wondering how long till we see flight cancellations to from Taiwan. Usually they cancel min 7 days advance, so I think I will fly out within 7 daysā€¦

Took a flight US-France a couple of weeks ago. A guy got refused boarding because he couldnā€™t show proof of a negative test, they had to unload his luggage off the plane and leave the guy in Atlanta.

So better check with the airline.

You need to check the requirements for the airline, transit country and destination. At check in they are very strict about this.

I did one in UK for around 10000 ntd.

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well many airlines will not know the exact regulations. For Austria that is 5 documents each 3-4 pages long. The airlines says need to confirm to local laws at destination country. But the checkin clerk in Tawian will for sure not know all those exceptionsā€¦

Oh yeah - I need FFP2 mask without exhale filter full flight and arrival for Austria, that is Austrian law. Havent seen such FFP2 masks anywhere here. Guess I will need a N95 for the last leg cause on first leg no one will check. Could be possible airlines provides them? Who knows.

Let alone if you have a ticket to Country A, but fly onwards to Country B on another ticket same day. That will be my case. There are special exemptions like I do not need a covid19 test. However will they know that in Taiwan. I guess not. For country B also covid19 test is needed, but not for residents (however Country B residence certificate is not looking like one, only local authorities will recognise it as valid)ā€¦

Really?

They look it up at Timatic or similar, if they are unsure they ask their supervisor.

Iā€™ve seen FF2 and FF3 (also allowed by Austrian) available in TW. Have a look at Austrian Airlines and see what they say about masks. I was given low quality mask by airline and airport but not FF2 and not on my way to Austria.

I highly recommended to fly on one ticket incase something happens. Anyway make sure you are allowed to enter your transit country and leave same day incase you are supposed to do quarantine x days there.

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I will be flying next week. I booked myself an urgent test one day before departure (results on the same day). As far as I have researched, a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of takeoff is a standard requirement. I am taking mine at the very last minute because my journey is 32 hours (flying from Taiwan to Estonia isnā€™t easy!) and the test needs to be done within 72 hours of each segment of the journey. Also, it will also allow me to qualify for just a 6-day quarantine in Estonia.

By the way, many countries require additional ā€œpassenger locator formsā€ to be filled out prior boarding.

In any case, there is a lot of confusion around the requirements across the board, and I think that to be on the safe side (also to be responsible), it is better to do a test before flying no matter what.

The check in staff should be familiar with the testing requirements to the destinations that airline is servicing. If the check in staff doesnā€™t know or is not sure, they will deny boarding and ask a supervisor for approval to issue a boarding pass.

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in theory that works all right. On my way to Taiwan I kinda needed to use force to get on my plane during transit in Istanbul because they did not know the taiwan gold card with pick up in Taiwan stuff. Couple of days later people got told to print out that paper in color. I guess because of problems at Istanbul airport.

There was big city confusion and some people who were let on their first leg(s) were denied boarding.

If things are super complicated, donā€™t expect that it works. I could skip the test and just travel without, but I know who is the stupid one if they do not know the regulations. If you can prove direct onward travel outside Austria and are EU citizen, then you can fly without test. I bet that will cause a huge mess in Taiwan and Istanbul boarding. Better just take an additional testā€¦
Even if that means 3 PCR test withn 7 days for meā€¦ 1 in Taiwan, 1 on arrival in Cyprus, 1 after 3 days in Cyprus to leave quarantineā€¦

I cannot fly on one ticket because right now Turkish is kinda the only airline with decent prices (I paid a ridiculous low 550 euro for a return ticket with open return anytime 2021 in December 2020). I just got the approval for the ticket change to 25.05. as turkey and Cyprus are in war not possible to get it on one ticket or fly directly from Istanbulā€¦

My next weekā€™s test has just been cancelled and I have called to a few hospitals that are supposedly offering them but it seems like all self-paid PCR testing has been discontinued, as they have to focus the resources on local epidemic.

If anyone still knows a location in Taipei that offers self-paid PCR tests then it would be much appreciated.

That depends on the airline, transit country and destination. Some countries stupidly donā€™t require a test at all, other have 72, 48 or 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure. The standard is that you calculate the hours from the departure not each segment. So you probably need a test taken 72 hours before you leave Taiwan. There is many different rules depending on where you are going and how you travel.

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Is it a PCR test in order to get a plane ? Maybe go in the morning with your flight ticket to a hospital without RDV, that should work I guess ?

Hi all, thereā€™s so much info out there that Iā€™ve looked into, but they donā€™t always say the same thing. If someone has had experience with this, I would appreciate your help!

My family flies back to the states in mid July. We keep hearing that we can do rapid testing AT the airport on the day of, but I just cannot find legitimate information that isnt conflicting. Our flight is on a Monday at 10pm. We were thinking of just taking a taxi up on the day of (we live in chiayi), go straight to the airport, do the test, and just wait there for the results. My question isā€¦has anyone done the airport departures testing before? how quickly can it get done?

Weā€™ll also have 2 little ones with us (one 6 month, one almost 3yo), so just trying to think what is the most efficient and less-hassle way to do this. would appreciate your help.

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You need to make a prior appointment and usually most is booked out. Moreover, it is kind of risky because if things do not work out as planned due to scheduling issues, your flight will be gone

Start calling hospitals near you NOW to schedule your 3 days before flight tests. Anyone of means is getting the heck out of Taiwan right now, especially with remote learning in the north leading wealthy families with kids to not think twice before jetting off to elsewhere. A friend of mine who went for a covid test (leaving this week as previously planned months ago) said there were over 100 people getting tested at Taipei City Hospital yesterday. While July is a bit further out, especially as the rest of the world gets vaccinated and life ā€œreturns to normalā€ in the US and Europe, more and more people will be planning trips out of Taiwan if the situation here doesnā€™t improve.

FYI

Good approach.
Covid testing really is the bottle neck here.

Taichung veterans hospital is okay with 2-3 days notice, but fast testing is now results next day instead of evening seemingly. So kinda forced to pay 7000 instead of 5000

Any source on this? Not saying it isnā€™t true, but I havenā€™t (yet) seen any stories about a massive surge in passenger numbers.

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