Lioneye

Does anyone know whether transiting (2 hours) through Istanbul from a UK amber listed country would relegate the traveller to a red risk when landing in the UK?

GlenP

Good question, as you're not actually entering the country itself, though you are coming into contact with the locals. I have to layovers scheduled within the next 2.5 months, to and from an Amber List country, and could just stay in the lounge, at a pinch, but the Government imposed hotel quarantine would be a killer, at the price they're charging.

ISTFlyer

The answer is yes, you would be considered as arriving from a red list country

Dave69NewYork

Transiting through Turkey back to UK would put you on the Red List Subject to Quarantine in the UK. And the irony is that Turkey put the UK on its Green list, requiring no PCR Test prior to arriving...

Lioneye

Thanks for that IST.

ISTFlyer

There are many UK citizens that rent summer houses in Turkey and they spend more than 3 months in the Aegean or Mediterranean region of Turkey; I guess that Turkey would at least wanted to be attractive on long term staying tourists rather than those short term ones.

Most likely, Turkey would be at least on UK's amber list back in June and green list somewhere in the summer.

Dave69NewYork

ISTFlyer, I agree. Turkey should make itself attractive to these Tourists. Yet a Vaccination Certificate and/or PCR ( 3 or 5 days prior ) would be the most prudent way to make everyone feel SAFE to come to Turkey. Some Countries on the NO PCR LIST are now experiencing major Covid situation. I am in the USA and belong to major Travel consortiums and after the NO PCR list, many are cancelling their trips to Turkey. They do not feel safe coming over, if there is a no proper screening system for ALL.

Dave69NewYork

And it is a shame because the Champions League on May 29th is now in jeopardy.

ISTFlyer

Although this is a bit off-subject, it should definitely be played in Istanbul.

It's highly enough that why some people ( don't want to say who are them ) don't want these events to take place in Turkey. EURO 2016 was going to be played in Turkey since some person involved politics into the election of the host; same for EURO 2020, for Turkey not to be the host they created this 12-city thing but there would be major travel bans and fans would not be able to attend all the matches of their country with the current format; again for EURO 2024, there was pressure built on the electing committee and people who voted for Turkey's host were criticized publicly. Then they gave the 2019 Super Cup and the 2020 Champions League just for us to stop complaining.

Now these people have started again; if Turkish citizens wouldn't be able to go to any potential EURO 2020 knockout stage or final game of Turkey that would place in the UK, so does UK travelers should be able face the same not watching their teams matches unless they go into hotel quarantine or a 10-day Portugal trip after their visit to Istanbul.

Dave69NewYork

Agreed. But it is just another blow to Tourism for Istanbul. And unfortunately France just added Turkey to the strict quarantine list as of today.

craigthemif

A PCR test / vaccination certificate has exactly 0% to do with making travellers feel safe, and 100% in helping locals (who vote) to feel that tourists aren't bringing COVID with them. If PCR tests of tourists actually worked to stop infection of locals, then tourist-needy countries would have their borders open. (They don't...)

At best, a testing policy might show a country slightly more interested in stopping the spread of the virus. But it's hardly enough to base a destination decision on...

Dave69NewYork

That is another can of worms that I do not want to go into. All I am saying is that people feel more comfortable flying on a plane when they know that everyone on that plane is either vaccinated or has taken a PCR Test. And most of Europe, including the tourist starving Countries are going that way. And the Countries that do not follow suit may not have a good tourism season. Just look at the advance European bookings by Individual Countries. In Turkey's case, the borders are open, PCR Tests are not required for entry from certain countries, yet various Governments ( Russia in particular ) have banned their Citizens for vacationing there till at least June 1st. I hope a strict lockdown, coupled with a comprehensive testing policy will turn the tide for Turkey.

ISTFlyer

I am sorry but what is the point of caring of others having a PCR test/vaccination certificate if the traveler himself is vaccinated.
Wasn't it vaccine companies who said that their vaccines protect someone not to be hospitalized and reduce the possibility of asymptomatic transmission of the virus?

By the way, the case for Russia not allowing their citizens to vacation to Turkey is because of the high-case numbers that were seen 2-3 weeks ago and has no relevance with the COVID PCR test or a potential vaccination certificate requirement. Most likely, the ban for Russians would be lifted as planned and the COVID test requirements for those arriving from Russia would also be removed.

I would also like to mention again that if you have symptoms, you are not able to board a flight to Turkey and if you develop symptoms at arrival in Turkey, you are pulled for medical screening.

Dave69NewYork

ISTFlyer, what if the traveler is not vaccinated ?? He/she has taken a PCR Test knowing that he is OK ( AT THAT MOMENT OF TIME ) and he is on a plane with people who have not taken PCR Tests ?? ( I am talking about flights from the Countries that do not need PCR for entry into Turkey ) And OF COURSE Russia is not allowing its citizens because of the High Covid cases, not because of testing requirements.

Craigthemif had mentioned locals. Locals in each Country want their Governments to institute safety protocols so that they do not catch Covid from Tourists, like Greece did last year.

I do not know what we are arguing about. I do not agree that there should not be any testing of any kind prior to boarding a flight. A test prior to taking a flight would serve as an added layer of security in filtering any possible cases of infection before arrival to a country. This is how I feel and my personal opinion. I respect everyone else's opinion. And I am sorry if I went off topic.

ISTFlyer

I respect your opinion,

If we speak about the locals in Turkey, we are all bored of these non-working COVID restrictions. Especially those working on the tourism sector or those work who depends on the number of tourists, would definitely prefer the country to be more attractive to tourists. Rather than restrictions and COVID safety ( in Turkey social distancing does not exist in 99% of the places although it's encouraged ), people would care about money and their economic stability more than not catching COVID. It's sad to say this but it's the truth.

For TK flights, it's still the case that someone boarding a Turkey bound flight might not have a negative COVID test because he is transferring to a country that doesn't require one or tests arriving passengers upon arrival. This is the case for all TK routes at the moment except those where the country of departure requests a test for departing passengers ( eg. Pakistan ), so this new exemption for 15 days didn't change anything in terms of that.

With respecting your opinion, I would also like to add that there is a complete tourist broad ( mostly tourists that take package tour holidays ) that prefer less hidden costs when booking something and they would definitely care about the $100-150 COVID PCR test fee. Let's say that an Ukranian family of 4 traveling to Turkey for a beach holiday would spend about $400-600 as they wouldn't do a COVID test and they might spend that extra money in Turkey or save it for future use.