Does she need to be tested at the airport or anything like that?
Has anyone flown from London to Zurich with Swiss recently? My mother will be visiting this week (a visit that needs to happen) and she isn't a frequent flier. I'm trying to avoid any unforeseen issues, corona or otherwise.
I flew a week ago, it was fine, flight was full and you had to wear masks but they then did a drink service which meant everyone took their masks off ! Was not asked for a permit. Had to queue to get into Terminal 2 but quiet apart from that, duty free was open but not much else and most restaurants were closed. Hope that helps
I flew in from Heathrow 3 weeks ago, and Manchester yesterday.
Same experience as Joolie: Flight was full and you had to wear masks but they then did a drink service and everyone took their masks off. Heathrow had a short queue to get into the Terminal, but was otherwise quiet. Duty free was open but not much else. Only Leon was open for take away food. Manchester yesterday was much the same, but a bit busier. Only Pret, Burger King, Boots, Dixons and W H Smiths open.
She needs to wear a mask from the point of entering the terminal, throughout the flight, and until exiting the other terminal.
Was not asked for a permit at either end. A couple of weeks ago in MCR they were taking temperatures with a point and shoot thermometer, didn't get that yesterday.
On the way back, she will still have to fill in the UK's 3 page track and trace form no more than 48 hours before returning to UK. It can really only be done online and is an absolute pain. It takes about 20 mins! You can do it for her and print a paper copy. If you don't, you face a tired, frazzled mum having to struggle with operating a virus-laden UK border service touchscreen while being shouted at by a man in a hat. Or a 100 quid fine.
Regards
Ian
I flew a few weeks ago with Swiss.
No problem coming into Zurich, was as usual, apart from having to wear a mask. Used the E Passport gate and was straight through.
Maybe they have sorted this out a bit now, but getting through border control at Heathrow to get into UK took almost an hour, the E gates were open but never work for me in the UK, and weren't working for a lot of people.
I would suggest allowing extra time on the return journey, but coming into Zurich should be as it normally is, just quieter.
I just flew BSL-MAN-BSL ... all normal apart from having to wear a mask in airport and aircraft. Be aware most shops and restaurants at the airport are closed and minimal food service on board.
Oh... before entering the U.K., you have to complete an online form (no more than 48 hours before arrival).
Just did a return GVA-LHR-GVA though on BA. To enter the UK you have to fill in their on-line form. It's a bit like filling in an ESTA. No-one checked it when I arrived in LHR and I went through the e-gates and never met a human being.
On the return back to GVA, we were obliged to fill in a paper contact tracing form, whilst on the flight. That we had to return to the flight crew, which struck me as being a serious breach of data protection requirements. I assume the flight crew then handed the forms to the ground agents, thereby breaching the data protection for a second time. The passport control didn't seem to have anything to do with this, so anyone's guess where they end up.
I checked that out once as I found that irritating and a breach of data protection as well. The documents end up at a Gesundheitsamt, have not yet had a reply when/how they destroy the data.
As to: how can you ensure that the data is handled securely and nobody accesses the data who shouldn ́t, also no answer. From a GDPR perspective it is a nightmare. So I now enter only minimal data so they can contact me if they have to. If anything has happened they can also contact the airline who has my full details.
If I recall correctly, the Swiss form says something about only being kept for 30 days...
Also, am not sure Switzerland is fully implementing GDPR yet, anyway.
Regards
Ian
I've got return flights Basel to Edinburgh in mid September as we were supposed to be at our house in Scotland for 2 weeks to take care of drawn out legal stuff. However, I don't think we're going to be going. OH doesn't fancy the prospect of getting caught up in a changing situation where we might have to quarantine at either destination, it would really muck up the work project he's on for a start if he had to do it here. I moved these flights from June, but have them until the end of the year.
I entered fake data on the contact form. It was collected by people who never saw me once I left the plane and whilst I have sympathy for the purpose of the contact tracing, as far as I'm concerned this is a botch job implementation. If I had been required to hand it over to the passport control in Geneva, I might have been happier to provide correct information.
UK form still required for travel to UK as of tonight. Nice lady checking the passports at boarding was reminding everyone.
We will see if I get asked for it on landing in Manchester.
Catandmouse... hmmm... putting false data on a form like that is not a good idea, maybe. There's no doubt a swiss rule somewhere that makes it a criminal offence. At the very least there will be a fine (there's always a fine!). Watch out they don't use similar tactics to the bin police, cross reference your details against the flight manifest, and sentence you to a years hard labour in the Emmental mines. Or something...
Regards
Ian
If you go through the eGates they weren't checking, but the immigration officers at the desks were asking. As usual the eGate didn't work for me, got bumped to a desk, checked my form.
Wouldn't you want to know if someone on your flight was a super-spreader? Even though the likelihood of transmission to you is low, unless s/he was in your zone.
Yes I would like to know. I have sympathy with the objective of the exercise, but am not prepared to compromise inexistant care of personal data.
There were plenty of ways of making significant improvements. If the border agents weren't prepared to collect the forms, then as far as I'm concerned, an urn in which we dropped the forms would have already been a significant improvement.
If anyone comes after me (impossible, there's nothing for the bin police to look at and no correlation possible with the flight manifest), I am quite prepared to prosecute the OFSP. No objection to collecting the data, but do it properly.
If everyone else on the flight did not lie when they filled in the form, then correlation with the flight manifest is easy... just sayin...
Regards
Ian
I've flown there and back about 5 times in the last 2 months, 2 with Swiss and 3 times with Easyjet.
Swiss - far more regimented with contact forms on the plane coming back to Switzerland which easyjet didn't even seem to bother with.
Easyjet the first week they restarted flying Zurich>Luton the other week were completely overly paranoid about the UK locator form and actually asking to see it at the gate before allowing boarding (which needless to say made us depart late).
I asked the guy why they were doing this as a) Swiss don't and b) You can fill one in at UK Border Control anyway if you have to and he said 'Oh I better call someone'. Thankfully they just ask if you have one now or offer a paper one on the plane so sanity seems to have prevailed.
Straight through e-gates at both ends the last 3 weekend and no pain at all.
It does crack me up though how social distancing is forced in the airport only to have people take masks off on rammed planes for the drinks trolley (Swiss flights I've been on were all either completely full or very nearly with a handful of free seats in total) and then forcing 2m distancing for luggage carousels at the other end.
Just flew with BA. They hand out sanitiser in a plastic sachet, in a bigger plastic sachet, in a plastic bag and also hand out crisps, cookies and a water bottle in a plastic bag so everyone is sitting mask free for 10-15 mins. This follows their "your safety is our highest priority spiel"
Flew to Greece recently they cram you like normal into a bus to transfer to the arrivals. It was from Switzerland so many weren't wearing a mask.
I'm a bit confused about everyone but Schengen citizens being banned from entering CH. The UK isn't Schengen. Are its non-CH-resident citizens allowed to enter, or not? I rather think they are, but can't find written evidence of this anywhere.
Me too. I "think" anyone from Schengen (& UK) plus this list of safe countries https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classifi...ndex.html#app1 can enter. Outside of that, only Swiss citizens/residents (possibly partners) can come and they must go into quarantine.
All the info you want - and more - is updated here by the Federal Govt.
https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home...nreisende.html
Even better, it's available in English! For once...
Regards
Ian