Transit in IST
Jun 13, 2021, 4:14 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 65
Transit in IST
I'm potentially looking at flying YVR-IST-ATH, but in the Greek government information, there is the following lines:
"The countries from which entry is allowed, under the aforementioned conditions, without the requirement for subsequent self-isolation are: EU & Schengen Area countries, USA, UK, Israel, Serbia, UAE, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, the Russian Federation, North Macedonia, Canada, Belarus, Bahrein, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro *, and Saudi Arabia."
"Non EU citizens are strongly advised to choose direct flights to Greece. In any other case, travelers should abide by the stop-over country requirements."
Source: https://travel.gov.gr/#/
It is not clear what this means - particularly "stop-over country requirements".
It could be read to mean that if you are not flying directly to Greece, you must follow a set of requirements in stop-over countries (such as not leaving transit areas).
Or, it could mean that if you don't fly direct, you must follow the entry requirements of the country you stop-over in, rather than the country of your origin.
(This would make sense for an actual stop-over, but not for transit, for example!)
If the latter, it could mean that a quarantine is required in Greece even if you just transit in Istanbul.
So, does anyone know for sure how this works?
I have found a report of someone doing XXX-DBX-ATH, which would be a non-direct flight, but that doesn't answer the question as DBX is in the UAE which is on the non-quarantine list
Has anyone done XXX-IST-ATH, transit only, where XXX-ATH would be permitted? Or any other XXX-YYY-ATH, where XXX-ATH would be permitted but YYY-ATH would not be?
"The countries from which entry is allowed, under the aforementioned conditions, without the requirement for subsequent self-isolation are: EU & Schengen Area countries, USA, UK, Israel, Serbia, UAE, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, the Russian Federation, North Macedonia, Canada, Belarus, Bahrein, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro *, and Saudi Arabia."
"Non EU citizens are strongly advised to choose direct flights to Greece. In any other case, travelers should abide by the stop-over country requirements."
Source: https://travel.gov.gr/#/
It is not clear what this means - particularly "stop-over country requirements".
It could be read to mean that if you are not flying directly to Greece, you must follow a set of requirements in stop-over countries (such as not leaving transit areas).
Or, it could mean that if you don't fly direct, you must follow the entry requirements of the country you stop-over in, rather than the country of your origin.
(This would make sense for an actual stop-over, but not for transit, for example!)
If the latter, it could mean that a quarantine is required in Greece even if you just transit in Istanbul.
So, does anyone know for sure how this works?
I have found a report of someone doing XXX-DBX-ATH, which would be a non-direct flight, but that doesn't answer the question as DBX is in the UAE which is on the non-quarantine list
Has anyone done XXX-IST-ATH, transit only, where XXX-ATH would be permitted? Or any other XXX-YYY-ATH, where XXX-ATH would be permitted but YYY-ATH would not be?
Jun 13, 2021, 9:08 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2020
Location: YUL
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I believe they mean the first, i.e. that you have to make sure you are allowed to fly to your first destination and take your connecting flight to ATH from there. Country of origin would still be Canada in your case - I suppose you'd be traveling on CAN passport. There are certain EU countries who are/were more strict than Greece, even just for transit, so you might have been stopped there, e.g. we were not allowed to fly DXB-FRA-ATH with a non-EU passport, despite being allowed to flight directly to ATH based on Greece's entry rules. As an added note, quarantine in Greece is not strictly enforced tbh, so I wouldn't worry too much about it if you're fully vaccinated/recently tested positive.
Jun 14, 2021, 2:59 pm
#3
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That is why the text above advises you to travel on a service directly from one of the listed countries. If you travel via any other place - even if just to change planes - you are subject to the rules applicable to all passengers arriving from that case, i.e. you are considered as arriving from Turkey and subject to whatever rules are applicable to arrivals from Turkey.
Jun 14, 2021, 3:23 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2020
Location: YUL
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This is exactly what it means.
That is why the text above advises you to travel on a service directly from one of the listed countries. If you travel via any other place - even if just to change planes - you are subject to the rules applicable to all passengers arriving from that case, i.e. you are considered as arriving from Turkey and subject to whatever rules are applicable to arrivals from Turkey.
That is why the text above advises you to travel on a service directly from one of the listed countries. If you travel via any other place - even if just to change planes - you are subject to the rules applicable to all passengers arriving from that case, i.e. you are considered as arriving from Turkey and subject to whatever rules are applicable to arrivals from Turkey.
Jun 15, 2021, 1:50 am
#5
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The page you quoted, which you were unsure how to intepret.
Think about it - why do they advise non-EU nationals to travel on direct flights, if travelling with a transfer in a country not on the list had no impact on their experience upon arrival?
https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
Think about it - why do they advise non-EU nationals to travel on direct flights, if travelling with a transfer in a country not on the list had no impact on their experience upon arrival?
https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
Jun 15, 2021, 9:00 am
#6
Join Date: May 2020
Location: YUL
Programs: A3 *G, QR Plat, Accor ALL Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 129
The page you quoted, which you were unsure how to intepret.
Think about it - why do they advise non-EU nationals to travel on direct flights, if travelling with a transfer in a country not on the list had no impact on their experience upon arrival?
https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
Think about it - why do they advise non-EU nationals to travel on direct flights, if travelling with a transfer in a country not on the list had no impact on their experience upon arrival?
https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
I also read the current law (valid until 21/06 if not extended), and the quarantine for incoming travelers has been abolished completely. For Greece there are no other restrictions apart from entry restrictions based on the country of citizenship/permanent residency (unless testing positive at the arrival airport).