WilcoRoger

Some comments on how "closed borders" work further south.

Flying to BUD - after deplaning there are 2 checkpoints for "exemptions". I had a business invite (simple letter, signed and stamped by the partner) It was a quick look and "Have a nice day" No tests or anything asked for. Friend's kid came to visit, she was put in home quarantine, she uploaded the required 2 negative PCS results on day 2, never heard back, so she went ahead with her life. Nobody ever checked if she was quarantined.

Driving from HU to SK over the Danube (supposed to have some official (!) proof of exemption from SK entry ban) - no checks at either end (actually no police presence at all). I saw the HU inbound lane had one policeman stopping some cars inbound.

Driving from SK to HU (other, small crossing) - neither side manned, drove straight through. Totally 2019 feeling.

Relative's friend driving from HU to DE via AT - not once stopped until home, just drove the Autobahn all the way.

Colleague in SK says, that get visitors from NL, BE, etc, all of them driving, because nobody ever stops them. Similar stories from the HU-RO border, with very light check HU inbound, none RO inbound (aside from the obvious passport/ID checks)

Let's see how HEL compares tomorrow

warakorn

One data point.
Last summer Finland opened it's borders for 14 day and then shut them down immediately.
So, I cannot recommend to commit to any travel to Finland this summer.

Im a new user

Finland opened the borders to people arriving from certain countries, then quickly closed the borders for most countries again. In the autumn, the rules changed and they opened for a different selection of countries, then soon closed the borders again. I wouldn't recommend booking anything more than a week in advance as the rules could change quickly.

The border has always been open for leisure boats if the boat arrives from a Schengen country, if that's an option.

Ed Size

I did this last year, and when I traveled for the second time they closed their borders just two days before, so I took a flight from HEL to TLL and did a little vacation in Estland and Latvia, which was wonderful too. So you need to be flexible.

By the beginning of May Greece opened its borders, I booked a flight and was there one day after it was possible again, that´s the way travel works these days I guess. That's the way I plan the next five month, once something is possible I ll do it, and if it won t work I don t care really.

OH-LGG

How was Ed Sizes Thailand trip ?

Ed Size

The first one was mainly staying in the qurantäne hotel and 5 days of work, the second one was canceled since I couldn't stay overnight in Hel - this one is postponed to Jan 22, but I hope I can go there latest in Aug., but I won t stay in qurantäne again unless work really require it.

WilcoRoger

HEL inbound

0/ Outstation checkin - agent is clearly clueless about Kanta screenshot about vaccination, asked what iti was and what did it say. That was it

1/ The setup at the terminal is very much suggesting that either you have a test or must get tested. Luckily we landed early, just before the incoming Asian wave. As my employer requires a negative test after a work trip, I didn't argue, just went to get the test, could as well do it instead of waiting at the carousel. 7 pax in front of me, many testing stations. (Result came the following morning)

Clearly this is an untenable setup if travel picks up even a little bit. And why should MY council tax pay for it??!!

2/ Foreign (EU) inbound pax "grilled" by border guard (friendly)

"What's the reason of your trip?"
"Meeting boyfriend"
>>at this point she showed him her phone<<
"Been together long?"
"xxxxx"
"Where did you meet?"
"zzzzzz"
"Enjoy your time in Finland"

Would be easy questions for a third country citizen, very intrusive for EU citizens.

ffay005

TK and IST do the trick. I flew CAI-IST-HEL today, and at CAI, nobody asked anything about flu certificates. At IST, I had almost three hours so I took an antigen test for 175 TLY (17EUR), which took 25 minutes (airside, just before transfer security). Since I had stocked up on those Vantaa contact forms and had filled mine in already, I was the first one at the THL desk and at passport control (everyone else stopped to fill in their forms, as TK doesn't distribute them on the plane, instead they hand out some October 2020 THL bedtime stories about washing hands....)

aapee

Yes, this really speeds up the process especially if you're not sitting in the front. Last time it was a bit challenging finding any before the outbound flight, Finally chatted with one of the testing personnel walking to the test point, she happened to have one to share.

So there is a testing point airside also? This was new to me..

cistavoda

I got a call from the authorities 5 days after arrival from abroad. They told me that I should get tested within 72 hours of arrival to shorten the voluntary quarantine. I wished them a nice day.

ffay005

The form doesn't have to be original. You can download it from here and print it! https://i.ylilauta.org/b/g/m/bgmxa.jpg

Here's what I wrote about the antigen test at IST. Some members on the TK forum were under the impression that it is only meant for irrops pax entering Turkey, but that's not the case. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33255166-post19.html

WilcoRoger

Except when the debarking of the E190 is via hind door ... sitting in C gives you the privilege to deboard last... OTOH the others are waiting for you on the bus, so the actual tactics is to deboard the BUS first... LIFO system work here well.

ffay005

The most important thing is to stand by the first set of doors on the right hand side in the direction of travel, and then exit and walk briskly. With some bad luck, there are other arrivals at the same time, though.

Wilco, did you take the test at HEL? If yes, could you check if your results were carried over to koronatietoni.fi? My assumption is that even if this is a HUS test, the results do not show up at korontatietoni.fi and you cannot print a certificate.

aapee

THANKS!

vanillabean

Has someone by any chance been reading the transit rules in Finnish recently and noticed whether a Dane can bring an American spouse when travelling to say Denmark or Sweden rather than returning to the country of residence, say the US? Timatic for Denmark at least tends to fall behind Denmark’s English edition, which is often well behind the native Danish.