EU restricts travel from Thailand

[edwinchester]

10 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Submarine driver comes to mind, with the little fatty Prawit running the periscope.

Only good for ballast imho.

[Pattaya Spotter]

4 hours ago, Heng said:

Wonder if the US will follow suit.   Travel planning now certainly does have an edgy feel.   Certainly more exciting than worrying about tight connection times and fresh snowfall.  

It is odd that travel to the US from Europe is still banned but travel from Thailand isn't. Maybe it's because travel from Thailand is de minimus while travel from Europe is normally a lot.

[david555]

1 hour ago, jojothai said:

????
See my other comment on KLM, the Netherlands list still shows Thailand on the safe countries list

check your PM  i send

 

"BRUSSELS: European Union member states on Thursday agreed to add Ukraine to a list of countries from which travellers can enter the European Union during the coronavirus pandemic, while Thailand and Rwanda were removed.".....

 

more

[sapson]

1 hour ago, Joinaman said:

any idea what happens if you return to Uk, then told you need to compulsory quarantine, but tell them you don't have the money ?

Reading the gov website their is a paragraph stating that if you are unable to pay the 1750 quid you can pay them back monthly, however as it is with amber rating you have to fill out a passenger locator form to be allowed to fly and provide proof of a negative covid pre flight and two booked  pre paid tests with a reference number for day 2 and day 8 covid test and voluntary quarantine unless already vaccinated twice with a certificate.

 

If Thailand does go to red zone you must book and prepay without a choice your mandatory government quarantine hotel...... how you would get to fly and arrange the pay later option i dont know?

 

Re flights looks like you can transit through Amsterdam Schipol.

Posted earlier in the thread.

 

The purpose of your trip falls under one of the exemption categories:
- You are travelling through the Netherlands to a non-EU country. You must prove that you have a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area. The connecting flight must depart within 48 hours of your arrival in the Netherlands. - -You must not leave the airport’s international transit zone in this period.

[Espanol]

5 hours ago, gearbox said:

Some EU countries e.g.  Greece or Spain have Sinovac on the list.

No. Only Sinopharm.

[Espanol]

5 hours ago, gearbox said:

Some EU countries e.g.  Greece or Spain have Sinovac on the list.

No. Only Sinopharm.

[jojothai]

7 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Reading a UK Gov Website , only vaccines dome by the NHS are acceptable 

Have to be careful about the wording. That may be for travellers "returning".
A lot of the current talk is for UK people going abroad for holiday and returning.

Most of the rules i am seeing generally refer to acceptable vaccines as those approved by the country's governing dept.
England has approved Moderna, Oxford Astra Zeneca (version in Uk / Europe), Biontech Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson.
Search as best you can.  I guess that It needs to be very clear by monday's relaxation. 

[jojothai]

4 hours ago, jojothai said:

I looked at the safe list guidance for Netherlandss
https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-netherlands-from-abroad/checklist-entry

At present Thailand is currently on the list of Safe countries/regions outside the EU/Schengen area

As advised by others including David555 the list may only just be in the process of being updated following the announcement from yesterday
Check over the next few days to see what happens.

[jojothai]

18 minutes ago, sapson said:

Re flights looks like you can transit through Amsterdam Schipol.

Posted earlier in the thread.

 

The purpose of your trip falls under one of the exemption categories:
- You are travelling through the Netherlands to a non-EU country. You must prove that you have a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area. The connecting flight must depart within 48 hours of your arrival in the Netherlands. - -You must not leave the airport’s international transit zone in this period.

Please all be advised the Netherlands list may be in process of updating.
Best check over the next few days. 

[Rinrada]

8 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Have to be careful about the wording. That may be for travellers "returning".
A lot of the current talk is for UK people going abroad for holiday and returning.

Most of the rules i am seeing generally refer to acceptable vaccines as those approved by the country's governing dept.
England has approved Moderna, Oxford Astra Zeneca (version in Uk / Europe), Biontech Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson.
Search as best you can.  I guess that It needs to be very clear by monday's relaxation. 

From a few weeks ago...cant say if you will be allowed to enter with Sinovax..?....The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is the agency of the European Union responsible for the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products, has approved only Four Coronavirus vaccines so far, which are:

• Comirnaty (BioNTech, Pfizer)
• COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna
• Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca)
• COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)

The following are currently under rolling review but a decision on their approval is yet to be taken..

• CVnCoV (CureVac)
• NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax)
• Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac)
• COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell) Inactivated (Sinovac)

According to the EU COVID-19 Vaccine Passport for Travel Regulation,the Member States are obliged to issue and Accept passports Only to those who have been Vaccinated with one of the vaccines already approved by the EMA.....

[Dont confuse me]

Restricting travel FROM Thailand will mean not recommending travel TO Thailand.

This will possibly mean another year 18 month of travel restrictions to and from LoS.

[jojothai]

7 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Please all be advised the Netherlands list may be in process of updating.
Best check over the next few days. 

It looks like there has been announcements now to take Thailand of the Dutch travel list.
Check this link. Its in Dutch but has some other links for you to try in English.

 

https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws-uit-thailand/breaking-thailand-niet-meer-op-eu-lijst-van-veilige-landen/

[Mac Mickmanus]

5 minutes ago, jojothai said:

It looks like there has been announcements now to take Thailand of the Dutch travel list.
Check this link. Its in Dutch but has some other links for you to try in English.

 

https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws-uit-thailand/breaking-thailand-niet-meer-op-eu-lijst-van-veilige-landen/

Does Holland make its own rules or do they adhere to E.U rules ?

[david555]

1 minute ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Does Holland make its own rules or do they adhere to E.U rules ?

If you read it correctly , it is a joint  E.U. ruling from many country's , not only from the Dutch 

[jojothai]

Just now, Mac Mickmanus said:

Does Holland make its own rules or do they adhere to E.U rules ?

They should follow the EU rules. It is stated that it was an agreement of the countries.

Sad if it is true. LH will have the same problem through Frankfurt.
So options for travel to UK and without Hotel Quarantine now look very limited.
People have to check what other alternatives there are to Thai airways.
I thought that Cathay were starting flights again to London from Hong Kong.
If so, can that be used for Transit? More to check.

Unfortunately I think that now the EU have taken Thailand off the accepted list the UK may go to red very shortly.

[misterjames]

7 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Wonder how the TAT will turn this one around. Getting my popcorn!

They will blame the failure of the Phuket sandbox on the EU restrictions.

[jojothai]

6 minutes ago, jojothai said:

People have to check what other alternatives there are to Thai airways.
I thought that Cathay were starting flights again to London from Hong Kong.
If so, can that be used for Transit? More to check.

On skyscanner there are only Thai and  Singapore airlines flights from BKK to LHR.
Singapore are on the green list.
On the Cathay pacific website you can book to Hong Kong and there are now flights from HK to LHR.
Not every day. So it should be possible to book BKK to LHR via HKG depends on connection.
Hong Kong goes to UK green list on Monday 19th.
I do not know the transit rules they have to be checked

[KhaoYai]

7 hours ago, Guderian said:

And next week Thailand will probably go on the UK's red list, meaning compulsory hotel quarantine on arrival at your own expense (£1,750). That will be enough to kill the idea of returning home to get vaccinated for many people.

We had the travel update on Wednesday - Thailand wasn't added. The next update is in 3 weeks - I haven't known a country to be added or removed between updates but I suppose its possible.

[jojothai]

2 minutes ago, jojothai said:

On skyscanner there are only Thai and  Singapore airlines flights from BKK to LHR.
Singapore are on the green list.
On the Cathay pacific website you can book to Hong Kong and there are now flights from HK to LHR.
Not every day. So it should be possible to book BKK to LHR via HKG depends on connection.
Hong Kong goes to UK green list on Monday 19th.
I do not know the transit rules they have to be checked

You can book on the Cathay Website direct BKK to HKG to LHR. departing sunday wednesday thursday.
Check the Singapore option.
They both appear to be about 35,000 Baht return cheap economy.
Check the transit rules for both

[samtam]

4 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

Yes of course it is

 

4 hours ago, club said:

You will never hear the truth

I only suggested that AZ manufactured abroad was being administered because that it what the nurse at BNH told my friend when he was getting his AZ shot; "it's imported. There is no Thai Astra." There is no reason that her remarks are definitive, but it is very difficult to know whom to believe. And I suspect we might not know for a while. Surely there would have been a big fanfare about the rollout of AZ from the Thai production?

[jojothai]

6 minutes ago, jojothai said:

You can book on the Cathay Website direct BKK to HKG to LHR. departing sunday wednesday thursday.
Check the Singapore option.
They both appear to be about 35,000 Baht return cheap economy.
Check the transit rules for both

Hong Kong Cathay Pacific website 
 

"Transiting through Hong Kong
Transit requirements

Passengers will be able to transit through Hong Kong if:

Their itinerary is contained in a single booking;
They meet the entry requirements of their final destination;
They have their baggage checked through to the final destination;
They have been issued their onward boarding pass(es) from their origin; and
The connection time between flights is within 24 hours."

I cannot readily find transit requirements to confirm on HKIA.
If interested I suggest Call Cathay to check.

Now looking at Singapore

[samtam]

14 minutes ago, samtam said:

 

I only suggested that AZ manufactured abroad was being administered because that it what the nurse at BNH told my friend when he was getting his AZ shot; "it's imported. There is no Thai Astra." There is no reason that her remarks are definitive, but it is very difficult to know whom to believe. And I suspect we might not know for a while. Surely there would have been a big fanfare about the rollout of AZ from the Thai production?

Surely this is what is being used....?....

 

Quote

The National Vaccine Institute recently responded by sending Move Forward a copy of a contract for the purchase of 26 million AstraZeneca doses. However, most of the document is blacked out, Wiroj revealed on Monday (July 12).

 

[PeeJayEm]

8 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Do you have any inside info on that or is that just your uninformed opinion ?

  (Not being rude, just now making plans to go to the UK )

The risk of Thailand going into the UK red list is obviously high for anyone who understands the it is only the very limited testing that artificially  keeps Thailand's reported numbers at about 20% of the real figure.  For this reason (to avoid red list quarantine) I left on 2 July

[jojothai]

19 minutes ago, jojothai said:

You can book on the Cathay Website direct BKK to HKG to LHR. departing sunday wednesday thursday.
Check the Singapore option.
They both appear to be about 35,000 Baht return cheap economy.
Check the transit rules for both

On quick check Singapore looks ok for transit.
https://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-guide/Covid-19/transiting-through-airport.html

Go to the link for which transit flights are allowed.
From what I see below is part only. Check the details.

"Covid-19: SIA transit flights through Singapore
SIA and Scoot customers can transit through Singapore Changi Airport from approved cities to destinations in the SIA Group network currently operated by SIA or Scoot.

You can transit through Singapore if your flight itinerary meets either of the following:

1. You are departing from a city approved for transit flights through Singapore. For example, passengers may depart from Bangkok and transit through Singapore to Melbourne as Bangkok is among the list of departure cities for transit flights.

........"

[samtam]

13 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Hong Kong Cathay Pacific website 
 

"Transiting through Hong Kong
Transit requirements

Passengers will be able to transit through Hong Kong if:

Their itinerary is contained in a single booking;
They meet the entry requirements of their final destination;
They have their baggage checked through to the final destination;
They have been issued their onward boarding pass(es) from their origin; and
The connection time between flights is within 24 hours."

I cannot readily find transit requirements to confirm on HKIA.
If interested I suggest Call Cathay to check.

Now looking at Singapore

https://www.brandhk.gov.hk/html/en/Hong-Kong-Update/Travellers-Quarantine-FAQ.html

 

7. If I transit via Hong Kong without entering Hong Kong, would home quarantine measures applied to me?

Quarantine measures are only applicable to persons who enter Hong Kong. The quarantine requirement does not apply to transit passenger who arrives at the Hong Kong International Airport or enters the waters of Hong Kong solely for the purpose of leaving Hong Kong and, while in Hong Kong, does not pass through immigration control.

 

[hanuman2543]

4 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Show me a link stating such as the AZ from Thailand is not approved.  The AZ vaccine is the same and is manufactured with the same ingredients and the same way here as it is elsewhere, if not it would not be approved for use.

It is not about the Thai made Astra Zeneca, but about the Indian one and it shows the problems of the same vaccine made in different countries may have

 

https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-lifestyle-health-travel-f678a53270470d9b35ce6259e48548bf

[Joinaman]

25 minutes ago, PeeJayEm said:

The risk of Thailand going into the UK red list is obviously high for anyone who understands the it is only the very limited testing that artificially  keeps Thailand's reported numbers at about 20% of the real figure.  For this reason (to avoid red list quarantine) I left on 2 July

Which country did you leave for ?

And did you need full vaccinations before being allowed to fly?

I have heard of people returning to their own countries, UK and USA to get the decent free vaccinations

[Joinaman]

1 hour ago, sapson said:

Reading the gov website their is a paragraph stating that if you are unable to pay the 1750 quid you can pay them back monthly, however as it is with amber rating you have to fill out a passenger locator form to be allowed to fly and provide proof of a negative covid pre flight and two booked  pre paid tests with a reference number for day 2 and day 8 covid test and voluntary quarantine unless already vaccinated twice with a certificate.

 

If Thailand does go to red zone you must book and prepay without a choice your mandatory government quarantine hotel...... how you would get to fly and arrange the pay later option i dont know?

 

Re flights looks like you can transit through Amsterdam Schipol.

Posted earlier in the thread.

 

The purpose of your trip falls under one of the exemption categories:
- You are travelling through the Netherlands to a non-EU country. You must prove that you have a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area. The connecting flight must depart within 48 hours of your arrival in the Netherlands. - -You must not leave the airport’s international transit zone in this period.

So test prior to flying and then 2 tests on arrival, diff dates 

The tests on day 2 and 8 are pre paid in the uk ?

But what if like him, he has no smart phone, or know how to book anything online . He books the flights using agents and pays cash .

Can pay back monthly the 1,750 ?  Wonder how much they can take from a basic pension of around 500 a month, of which, if he returns, would need benefits to get some housing and other things 

Voluntary quarantine , as in Home isolation for 14 days ? ( if it stays amber ) 

Thanks 

 

[Joinaman]

2 hours ago, ChC1 said:

Theoretically you have to show that you booked a red list quarantine package and test package in order to get on the plane.

But if amber list ?

And not too sure how he would book the test package without smart phone and internet either 

He has a ticket to fly back, held by Emirates due to Covid , 

Test here would be ok prior to flying 

 

[gearbox]

2 hours ago, Espanol said:

No. Only Sinopharm.

Incorrect:

 

https://www.mscbs.gob.es/en/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov/spth.htm

 

Certificates for WHO approved vaccines are accepted.