asdf098

Does anyone have confirmation that BA will accept a rapid test? The way the CDC rules are worded gives me reasonably high conviction that a rapid antigen or LAMP test should be acceptable, but I can see how there is confusion/ambiguity.

Separately, a weird hypothetical: I'm traveling from US to UK for less than 48 hours. I get a test in NYC on Monday at 12pm ET, get results the next morning and fly to UK Tuesday night (thereby meeting the UK's testing requirement). If I fly back to JFK on Thursday (4pm GMT), can I show the same test that I used on the outbound? I think the answer is yes, because 1) it's within 72 hours of the test and 2) I see nothing in the CDC (or NY State) rules to say the test must be taken *in* the UK.

CKBA

Yes, in our experience the rapid antigen test is valid.
Flew (Mrs CKBA and I) on yesterday's (09-Jan) LHR-IAD. Had a 13:00 appointment at the Collinson's testing (Level 0/Ground floor, T5). Perhaps a bit chaotic, but admin work (by them) took a few minutes, then the test - simple nasel swab, into a vial and onto the 'stick'. Mrs CKBA went first, and by the time I had mine done her test already showed negative. Confirmation email arrived about 20 mins later, and we duly collected the (hardcopy) certificate. The latter is important since you need to show this at check-in and at immigration in the US for the CDC person.
All-in-all, not a horid experience, but an additional hurdle... .

(On a side, you really have to ask why such a simple & quick test isn't more widely available - yes it does miss some +ve's, but if you don't test, you miss 100% of them!).

Will100

NYC appear to be advertising on CNN about opening up for internal tourism.

What are the chances Europeans will be allowed in soon (without onerous quarantine)?

ISTFlyer

To clarify, there is no ban imposed on EU citizens by the New York State nor the US federal government.
The US federal government is not allowing non-US citizens, residents that have been in the Schengen Area, UK, Ireland, China, Iran, and Brasil in the last 14 days to enter the USA.

Also, it's not up to the state governments to determine to decide entry rules from abroad to enter the USA directly to their respective states. It's all in the hands of the federal government and it's likely that the Presidential Proclamation currently in effect would be modified after Joe Biden becomes president on 20 January 2021.

stimpy

Well Gov Coumo bent to pressure to allow football fans at the Buffalo, NY stadium yesterday. They allowed 6772 or 9% of the seats to be filled. I was surprised about that. But of course it will depend on the new US president and what his plans are. My guess is that springtime, maybe April 1st, will open the door to Europeans. Or not. We'll see.

stimpy

I did my trip now and it was mostly similar to yours. I started at CDG where they issued both BP's although it was done quickly and I think they must have automated the check for -24h at LHR. No extra check was done at the gate for BA113 to JFK. Just a quick scan of the BP. At no point during the trip was I asked for COVID test results. Although I did one anyways just in case.

Both my flights were delayed over an hour. At Paris, there was an engine warning light that required inspection. But as the reactor was 200C degrees, they had a wait a long while for it to cool down to do the inspection. Later at LHR I had enough to drink in the GF lounge and thus didn't care about why the flight to JFK was delayed. It didn't matter to me as it just meant less traffic on the roads into NYC. We arrived around 20:30.

destone

The US is expanding the negative-test requirement to all international travelers starting January 26th. In my view this paves the way for revoking the Schengen/UK/Ireland travel ban. Watch this space.

ISTFlyer

Here is the statement from the CDC related to the new requirement.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2...assengers.html

mec72

Any news whether the US will require PCR tests or the rapid ones will also be acceptable? The release is pretty vague ("Air passengers are required to get a viral test (a test for current infection) within the 3 days before their flight to the U.S. departs, and provide written documentation of their laboratory test result (paper or electronic copy) to the airline or provide documentation of having recovered from COVID-19.")

CKBA

Flew to US on Saturday. Had a 45 minute rapid antigen test at Collinsons at T5 (ground floor) and it was perfectly acceptable at checkin and for the CDC person in the US.

Often1

New order effective the 26th for all entries to the US from anywhere, not just the UK. Requirement is for a "viral" test. Rapid or other, so long as "viral". The arrival quarantine and second test are recommended, but not yet required. I would expect those to become mandatory in fairly short order if the infection rate amongst recent arrivals remains above the negligible.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2...assengers.html

Will100

Interesting.

Does this pave the way for tourism?

Recommended stay at home but not mandated may suggest so.

Jet Ranger

Interested in this as I am flying to the USA next week.
How long was the whole process? I know you say you had the 45 min test. But from arrival at T5 to having the result in hand arriving at check in. Just so I can plan. Don’t want the stress of waiting on a result by the checkin desk with the flight closing in 1 minute kind of scenario!

CKBA

We allowed ourselves plenty of time (4 hours before departure) just in case. Booked in at 13:00, took 5-10 minutes wait/paperwork, then another 5 minutes for the swab. Results emailed to us at 13:39, upon which we walked over to get a printed certificate (quite important since the CDC need it upon arrival in US). Useful that Cafe Nero is next to the testing station, so grab a tea/coffee while waiting for the results.

stimpy

Well France did the same thing back in July and not only did it not help tourism, it didn't stop the spread of COVID either. It sounds like a big waste of time to me, not that I'm against people getting tested. I get tested before each international flight anyways.