fifty_two

Hi

for those of you flying to/through poland , there are new restrictions starting from December 15th

statement from minister of health = "from December 15, before the arrival to Poland from outside the Schengen area, a test will be made not earlier than 24 hours before crossing the border" (translated from polish)

EDIT = Plus reduction of the occupancy limit in restaurants, bars and hotels to 30 percent (only unvaccinated people are affected) so be sure to have B plan , in case your booking might be cancelled

Now the 3 big questions =
.

1. does it apply for passengers who connect through schengen flights before arriving to poland ??
2. what type of tests will be officially accepted ?? (edit2 = apparently antigen tests will also be accepted when landing in poland)
3. Will they control only passengers coming from non-schengen flights ??

.
Now its a mess , cause due to covid you have to go upstairs after each flight and pass that filter where they check your documents , which is right after passport control in level 1

megaloman

I guess we need to wait and see what the actual law says, when published. I've got a connecting flight from GLA to WAW, if I need to take a test 24h before arrival into Poland, then it makes it really tough to get test results in time before travel,

fifty_two

thats everything for the moment , it can be antigen or RT-PCR , but not sure if it applies to pax in transit

hugolover

The restrictions on hotels and restaurants apply to the UNVAX only. A hotel could be 100% occupied if all guests have the glorious vax.

fifty_two

oh yes sorry i forgot to mention it

hugolover

I'd imagine the 24h rule is exactly the same as the Schengen 48h test rule for the unvaccinated.

TPJ

https://www.fly4free.pl/co-z-testami...od-15-grudnia/

Based on this (link in Polish, use Chrome to translate) - you can do the test in Poland, it can be a relatively cheaper antigen test.

Of course nothing is still officially published - I guess LOT CEO is still calling all government officials as this would be a major disaster for them. If you transit in another Schengen country (like ORD-FRA-WAW) and are vaccinated you will be exempt from the test, if you fly non-stop with LOT you will have to be tested. Fairly huge incentive to fly with LH

thepck

This one has really confused me. I will be in Poland < 24hrs in transit to Dubai (via ORD & AMS). I need the Dubai PCR test at 72hrs but now the test for Poland at 24hr. The long flights + long transit at WAW make the 72hrs already difficult enough.

megaloman

Timatic is still not updated...

And linked website don't mention any tests for vaccinated non-Schengen arrivals.

megaloman

ok, new rules have been published: https://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/D2021000231101.pdf

Test result required within 24h of crossing the border for all non-Schengen arrivals.

hugolover

My reading is no travel on direct flights from non-Schengen to Poland (TR excepted) without a test

But it can be any kind of test, including self-administered at home. Therefore it only adds a few pounds to a trip.

hugolover

Seems you can STILL travel without a test, but you’d have to quarantine on arrival whether you’re vaccinated or not

BUT, many airports will have testing on arrival, so you can skip quarantine if you’re vaccinated

Poland remains fully open to the unvaccinated

Two week quarantine, no tests on departure, none on arrival if you so wish to stay the full course of 14 days

nieszprot

Plus EU members not being part of Schengen

Andriyko

Do the rules say anything about connecting passengers? Flying NYC-WAW-KBP and only have a 2 hour connection at WAW. Not sure if I am considered an 'arrival.' Thank you.

megaloman

Make sure you go through non-Schengen connection channel and don't cross the border - test won't be required.

Also test is not required to board a flight to Poland - it's only required to cross the border. If you have no test, there's a mobile testing point right before Immigration in non-Schengen arrivals, it's rapid antigen and costs 100 PLN (~25USD/19GBP/22EUR).