NickW

Has anyone recent experience of the protocols for on-arrival testing at Vienna airport? I've read the official proclamations - looking for actual experiences.

eyechip

Wondering the same. I’m booked on July 2 on Austrian from IAD for work. It’s still taking about 4-5 days (unbelievable) to get test results back here to bring. So it will be cutting it close in my ability to land with a test in hand within four days. I may have to do the testing on arrival. What I can’t figure out is do you have to wait there for results? Or can you go to your hotel to await clearance?

jaymar01

Typically, 2-3 hours for results. Most people wait.

https://www.viennaairport.com/pcrtest

KLouis

No way! In the page that you quoted the minimum time indicated is 4 hours, and based on my own hands-on experience with PCR over many years, this is indeed a very "strict" minimum time, especially considering the time to bring your sample (and other samples: PCR is not run individually) to the lab, prepare the reactions, "run" them, "read" them and, finally, bring the results to you.

eyechip

I spoke to a contact there at VIE. Apparently you do NOT have to wait for the test results. You must though go directly to your quarantine location, (Apt hotel etc) and wait there for results. If negative you can leave quarantine. Whether the July 1 date for entry to U.S. Passports will not be extended is the only unknown at this point. But given Austrian is flying from the 1st to the U.S. (and I have a ticket) one has to imagine they are confident it will stick.

flying_geek

I have no actual experience, but my parents in law just flew back to Vienna from Florida - they flew AA - MIA-ORD - and then LX ORD-ZRH-VIE. I had called the testing place, which is in an adjacent building to the airport (basically in the office park), one would have to make an appointment and while one could wait for the result, one does not have to - usually it is available the next day and one would come back the next day to pick it up.

In the case of my in-laws - nobody asked for a test - they had one from here

Bram

Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread, but are there any recent experiences of US citizens entering Austria from Schengen?

From this page, it seems like entry for a US citizen from the US would not be allowed, but entry from Schengen would be. Is that right? So, if I were to fly USA-CDG-VIE for example, with a negative Covid test obtained in the US in hand, would I be admissible to Austria and able to skip quarantine? Does it matter if I spend a period of time in a Schengen country, or merely transit?

Thank you.

MichaelA380

I do not believe this would be possible as you should not be allowed to enter Schengen via the border crossing at CDG. Ideally, the airline should not allow you at all to board the plane at your point of departure in the US.
(No personal experience, just my understanding of the EU rules.)

eyechip

The odds are slim to none that Air France will even let you board in the U.S. There are a lot of examples published today of people over the past few days that have been turned away at the airport. They tried to argue that the airline sold them the ticket so they should be able to fly. And using excuses like...I have family there I need to visit. Neither are going to cut it.

There are exceptions for essential business with unique skills that require documentation etc from a EU firm, but even those are hit and miss from what I hear.

The only option that is solid is traveling to Croatia. You have to have a prepurchased room for the entire stay though and can't leave the country. People are reporting that the airlines tried to turn them away in the U.S. but when showing them the IATA listing for Croatia and the Govt information that Americans can travel there, they have been allowed to board.

So, in summary, if you can actually get on the plane you MIGHT make it through immigration on arrival. But the way things seem to be handled right now is that the airlines are blocking this in the U.S. and making sure you DON'T get on.