UVAhoo06

Given the recent travel restrictions in place, travel to Europe and other parts of Asia seems really challenging. I'm supposed to fly to Argentina this weekend, but I'm not sure whether there are travel restrictions in place at the moment. I'm reading that passengers from the US and other countries with sustained transmission of covid-19 will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. On government websites, it says that arriving pax are recommended to self-isolate. So, at this point, I'm not sure what to do because I'm there for less than 2 weeks.

Is anyone on AM, AR, or DL headed to Mexico and/or S. America in the coming days? What are you all doing? And have you been able to get refunds?

*Update: Apparently Argentina has stopped issuing visas to US citizens and others such as those from the EU, China, Korea, etc.*

Steven Citrin

Was there any updates on how long this would be effective for? Suppose to head there April 1st and now trying to figure out if I should just cancel everything. Its killing this was suppose to be the backup for when my Rome flight was canceled.

UVAhoo06

I honestly don't know. Here's what I'm seeing online:

• https://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...-hit-countries

• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN20Z23G

Ugh, I canceled a trip to HKG and this was my backup. Most trip insurance policies don't cover a disinclination to travel due to epidemics and/or pandemics. Right now, I can't legally enter the country, and it seems crazy to think that this is my decision. I'm really, really hoping to get a refund.

Steven Citrin

Yeah the worst part is i just used my GUC to get D1 on the ATL-EZE flight so now have to get those back. I have a call back into the diamond line but its a 2 hour wait and wonder if its going to be difficult since there is nothing posted anywhere on major sites about it yet.

parzivalmx

I have AM TIJ-MEX-BOG in one week. At this point I think I'm going to cancel the trip. Going to call AM later today and see what are my options. I just want to avoid being quarantined or denied entry to US since I'm not a permanent resident. Colombia has instructed self quarantine if incoming from some countries.

mrcool1122

I am also booked to travel to Argentina this month. There appears to be some confusion as to what Argentina's actual policy is. The president went on the radio and announced the 14-day quarantine, although it's not clear whether that had the force of policy. Some news outlets reported it, and IATA has noted it in their Argentina section: https://www.iata.org/en/programs/saf...o-coronavirus/ IATA cites International SOS, another private entity, which cites no source for the quarantine requirement: https://pandemic.internationalsos.co...-and-screening

The Argentina government website is pretty disorganized but as far as I can see, their latest measures don't include this quarantine for USA'ers: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticia...ia-argentina-0

It's entirely likely that the quarantine is officially implemented but it's all so uncertain. I know nothing about Argentina politics but it's possible they have a president who says things to the media that don't actually reflect the nuance of actual government policy. No other South American country that I've looked at (Chile, Colombia) has announced such drastic measures yet. Very frustrating to know whether to keep plans or not.

UVAhoo06

It's all very frustrating indeed. At this point, I'm going to cancel, I think. Given how fast this situation is developing, I'm not even sure whether it's risk it. I really wanted to head to AR but this may not be the year...

According to the 4th bullet point, here's what it says (translated): "In addition, anyone who comes from or has been in the last 14 days in countries with circulation of the virus or who have had close contact with a confirmed or suspected case of carrying coronavirus." My reading of this bolded part means that anyone coming from a a country where there has been sustained transmission will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days under penalty of prosecution.

Steven Citrin

Yeah i'm in the same boat. As much as I wanted to go I cant afford to be in a quarantine for 14 days and it seems to uncertain and doesnt even have a end date just saying "temporarily" which means I cant even reschedule because i dont know if that means a week or several months. Im sure over the next few days they will have it in order but doesn't sound good either way. This whole thing is really getting on my nerves!

UVAhoo06

It also doesn't help that I booked tickets on AR and won't be able to recoup any of the costs. My travel insurance excludes situations where traveler fails or is unable to secure the appropriate visa to enter the country. In this case, because I can't actually get a visa (i.e., the government has stopped issuing them to travelers from the US), I'm on the hook for over $600 USD worth of flights.

koje581

What Visa are you referring to? US Passport holders DO NOT require visa to Argentina for up to 90 days.

mrcool1122

I have about two weeks until scheduled arrival in Argentina, and I'm not arriving by air. So we are holding on to our reservations until the last moment (we are flying AV, not AR, which has a better refund policy). Still nothing official from the Argentinian government aside from what I found at IATA, so I don't want to make cancellations until there is something from the actual government. But I would not be surprised that, if Argentina imposes 14-day quarantines for American travelers, other South American countries imposed the same measures.

UVAhoo06

I think the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers from the US will be implemented.

Brandinho1

My wife who is an Argentine living in Buenos Aires just told me that there may soon be an announcement of Argentina completely suspending flights from the US. I know AR suspended service to MCO and MIA a couple of days ago, but please check your reservations closely as things could change. Not saying it as fact yet but would think it could happen at any time.

Brandinho1

https://qcostarica.com/argentina-sus...a-for-30-days/

Steven Citrin

Yeah I ended up moving mine back to June 20th so hopefully things have calmed down enough that they are not quarantine people on entry from certain countries. Figured for now i will just keep monitoring and make adjustments as needed. Will say it sucks a lot because everything seems to be more expensive in June from when I started looking last night. I did see on TPG that AA did suspend several flights to Argentina but nothing on Deltas news hub this morning regarding South America