Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[Amanad78]

Have any dual-citizens managed to call Medicare/Services Australia and successfully add their vaccination certificate to their non-Australian passport?

 

[Tiki]

https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/announcements/coronavirus-outbreak/travel-restrictions/

Turkey is much more reasonable. EK is my preferred airline on the outbound with a layover in DXB but if I had to go straight through I would but it would be a trip from hell - masks for 20ish hours straight! I could use QR or SQ depending on how easy it is to transit.



PCR test in Istanbul for return to BNE is a much more reasonable 250 TL, around $35.

PRICE LIST - Istanbul PCR Test

STANDARD PCR TEST 250 TRY Result delivery btw 8-12 hours. Price may differ due to your location. The PCR test fee determined by the Turkish Ministry of Health is 170 TL. A separate service fee applies. VIP COVID-19 PCR TEST 400 TRY Result delivery within 4 hours. Price may differ due to your...

www.touristpcrtest.com

 

[Must...Fly!]

Yes my hope is Turkey maintain their policy (I think they will). Hope for now is to get to Norway after that, they are currently equally liberal and hopefully remain so. Internal flights will be late notice decisions I think. For me have chosen to fly out of Spain as I think they will stay relatively liberal to maintain the tourism market. Worst case, fly direct to Spain from Turkey, AirBnB along the Mediterranean coast there.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Transit passengers from these countries with a Dubai Connect booking and/or transit time of more than 10 hours

"These countries" is a reference to the previous paragraph

• Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia

@Tiki , on Aust passport I have always obtained visa on arrival entering DXB and IIRC they didn't distinguish bettween transit and tourist for these, I got 30 days even if entering for five hours. Transit generally refers to airside there. I found Deira souk a bit lame compared to Grand Bazaar, it would be low on my list. For that sort of thing I'd visit Dubai Mall which has its own souk, or Souk Madinat Jumeirah.

OTOH for shop wandering It's easy to spend 14 hours airside in DXB terminal 1; it's about a mile walking from one end of the C gates to the other end of the B gates. You can also travel airside to and from A gates if you stick to the "connecting flights" signs and don't mind going through security again to get to and from A. There are plenty of people in blue t-shirts that can help and direct you.


Cheers skip

 

[sydunipete]

I believe it's the shedding element - I'll be spewing dead virus everywhere - including my poo...

Yep. It would show up in the PCR for up to 3 months. Bit of a bummer if you're trying to get home and find out just before your flight that you've tested positive.

 

[PineappleSkip]

So if you get COVID overseas, you have to wait up to three months and keep paying for tests until they come up negative, then rebook your flight?

Looks like this is why the certificate of recovery is so important as an alternative!

Cheers skip

 

[jakeseven7]

So if you get COVID overseas, you have to wait up to three months and keep paying for tests until they come up negative, then rebook your flight?

Looks like this is why the certificate of recovery is so important as an alternative!

Cheers skip

Predict a roaring trade in ‘certificates of recovery’ and ‘tests’

 

[PineappleSkip]

Tests maybe (I already saw the roaring trade in Africa in March) but Aust won't accept a certificate of recovery at all, AFAIK

 

[jakeseven7]

Tests maybe (there was already a roaring trade in Africa in March) but Aust won't accept a certificate of recovery at all, AFAIK

They will have to soon (if they aren’t already).

 

[Must...Fly!]

Tests maybe (I already saw the roaring trade in Africa in March) but Aust won't accept a certificate of recovery at all, AFAIK

See below.

Now what I would be planning if I'd had COVID in Australia already is a Doctor's note from Australia that you've already had COVID in the last six months. Hopefully that would suffice as a insurance in case your PCR test came back positive.



Source: Coronavirus (COVID-19) FAQs – international travellers to Australia

 

[Lynda2475]

Really ought to allow for a serology test to clear you to travel. This is how historic vs current infections were verified for arrivals testing positive in HQ.

 

[Mr H]

I am guessing that in 4 months' time all this testing will have died a death.

 

[Spacetravel]

I am guessing that in 4 months' time all this testing will have died a death.

I sure hope so

 

[jakeseven7]

I am guessing that in 4 months' time all this testing will have died a death.

Or a big chunk switched to much cheaper at home testing where you can ‘quality control’ yourself

The amount our governments are spending on PCR tests right now should be making any tax payer vomit….

 

[N860CR]

Or a big chunk switched to much cheaper at home testing where you can ‘quality control’ yourself

The amount our governments are spending on PCR tests right now should be making any tax payer vomit….

Been vomiting about it for a long time, especially when in the next breath we're told the health system is "under strain" or "at capacity".

Refusing citizens to board flights back home because they "test positive" to a virus that 90% of the country is vaccinated against (and subsequently abandoning them in a foreign country potentially without a valid visa) is simply not sustainable, let alone reasonable. I suspect it simply hasn't been very well thought out as yet. We were able to ignore it when it was only "rich expats" being refused boarding onto their $10,000 one way tickets home, but when Bazza is stuck at Nadi airport for months on end, somebody will take notice.

 

[Must...Fly!]

The amount our governments are spending on PCR tests right now should be making any tax payer vomit….

Absolutely agree. Government should not be stumping up for tests for private overseas travel. My suspicion is that it will stay until after the next federal election at which point it will be significantly pared back. Unless they can get through having a nasal RAT or even saliva test on return. They are (relatively) non-invasive, very quick, and much cheaper. And frankly, if you're not symptomatic in a place loaded with COVID like NSW or VIC, really you have to start to wonder what is the point?

 

[Must...Fly!]

but when Bazza is stuck at Nadi airport for months on end, somebody will take notice.

A curious thing I found through looking for the details about positive PCR tests for previous infection is that currently returning from some countries, including Fiji, the AU government allow you to present a test that is 96 hours old.

I doubt there is any such restriction about having to have the test in the country of departure. So one could, in theory, go for a weekend away in Fiji and just have had the one test in Australia before leaving...

PCR testing is available in the country / jurisdiction that I am in, however it is difficult to access and results take a couple of days. Can the 72-hour time frame be extended for countries / jurisdictions with continued limited capacity?​

The Australian Government continues to monitor PCR testing capacity in countries / jurisdictions where travellers are likely to depart from. Travellers departing from the countries / jurisdictions listed below may give evidence of a negative PCR test result, where the test was done 96 hours or less before their scheduled flight departure.

Countries where a negative PCR test may be accepted, where the test was done 96-hours or less, before the scheduled flight departure*​

• Belize
• Cook Islands
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• French Polynesia
• Marshall Islands
• Nauru
• New Caledonia
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Timor-Leste
• Wallis and Futuna

* This list will be updated as local circumstances change.

Again, source: Coronavirus (COVID-19) FAQs – international travellers to Australia

Realistically I would expect testing in Fiji to become more affordable and easier to access as tourism ramps up.

 

[N860CR]

Countries where a negative PCR test may be accepted, where the test was done 96-hours or less, before the scheduled flight departure*​

• Belize
• Cook Islands
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• French Polynesia
• Marshall Islands
• Nauru
• New Caledonia
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Timor-Leste
• Wallis and Futuna

Belize is an odd standout. Seems like a diversity pick

 

[Must...Fly!]

Some Googling indicates that testing is certainly available in Belize. Odd one indeed, perhaps it pre-dates the US requirement for negative test for entry for all air passengers? That certainly would've kicked a company or two Belize in to gear.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Absolutely agree. Government should not be stumping up for tests for private overseas travel. My suspicion is that it will stay until after the next federal election at which point it will be significantly pared back. Unless they can get through having a nasal RAT or even saliva test on return. They are (relatively) non-invasive, very quick, and much cheaper. And frankly, if you're not symptomatic in a place loaded with COVID like NSW or VIC, really you have to start to wonder what is the point?

The government isn't paying for travel related PCR tests. But as I mentioned elsewhere... there's almost no point in having them anyway without the requirement to isolate once you've had the test.