Paphos Life

Cyprus pushes back date for British tourists

https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/
The tourism minister said July 15 was 'very reasonable' but the health minister had expressed reservations after partial lockdown measures in Britain raised further concern

A new date for opening flights to incoming passengers from Britain has been tentatively set for August 1 in the Republic of Cyprus, with health officials warning that the decision is conditional on the United Kingdom keeping a firm grip on containing the virus.
During a meeting at the Presidential Palace, between President Nicos Anastasiades and the government’s pandemic task force, it was decided that August 1 could be set as a tentative date for introducing Britain into category B. Under the second category, all foreign tourists flying from the UK would need to have a PCR test done 72 hours prior to landing on the island.
An earlier date in mid-July was being sought according to various media reports, with Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios saying July 15 was a “very reasonable” timeframe.
Perdios made the statement last month following anticipated positive news in the United Kingdom. But a number of health experts as well as Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou expressed reservations after partial lockdown measures in Britain raised concern among officials in many countries.
Ioannou also appeared to side with a recommendation by one of the health experts, Leondios Kostrikis, who called for random checks in the low-risk category A to be increased five-fold.

The added measure would come a week after another local expert on the government’s public health task force, Maria Koliou, broke ranks with her team and publicly called for all arriving passengers to get tested regardless of low or high risk classification.

I'm totally confused flights arriving today from UK and more tomorrow so is it the 1st or not

Or do they not know there arse from there elbow
Lin n vic

Without potentially paying hundreds for Pcr tests in the UK, it is unlikely any tourists will come ,even in August.

I must admit that on Paphos Chat the fact of having to pay for a test is not going down well
Some people are saying that Cyprus should pay for the tests for them.. Some are even saying that they will go elsewhere rather than Cyprus

lin n vic wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:59 pm I'm totally confused flights arriving today from UK and more tomorrow so is it the 1st or not

Or do they not know there arse from there elbow
Lin n vic

Repatriation flights

Repatriation flights, lord how many do they need, Bit late in the day for that.

trevnhil wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 9:00 pm I must admit that on Paphos Chat the fact of having to pay for a test is not going down well
Some people are saying that Cyprus should pay for the tests for them.. Some are even saying that they will go elsewhere rather than Cyprus

Some of the travel groups I'm on are very unhappy with this too.
Because a date has been given, the airlines for flight only passengers will not allow them to change the date of travel and will charge cancellation fees.
Package holidays however have another set of rules and are a little more flexible.

A total nightmare for some who thought all was going to be okay only to come up short at the last fence.

I can totally empathise with that. I live in the Lake District in the UK and at the moment our new cases and deaths (comparatively) are very low. However from today with the new relaxation of the rules it feels like Armageddon is about to start.
If I lived in Cyprus I wouldn't welcome visitors from the UK either.
But like Cyprus, business here is tourism and the hotels etc need to move on so we have to.
Already in my town you see the amount of new cars parked on the side streets Car parks full.
It's scary stuff.

We live out in the sticks so to speak, we have really enjoyed the freedom to go to Paphos shops, restaurants and in the mall etc but when the British tourists are allowed back in we will be on lock down again.
We have had two Curry fixes over the last few weeks and may get another two before the end of July.

I recently arrived back in cyprus and I took the cv19 test at LCA and it was 60 eu , would I expect the Cypriot Goverment to pay for this test ? No ! If tourists wish to come then they should take a test before or on arrival. Cyprus has handled the situation very well so far long may it continue !

sadie62 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 9:01 am So what happens to those who have flights booked to come here before Aug 1st ( ie this month).

Not a clever move really, Britain's handling of the virus is so haphazard that booking flights based on the information that the government gives out is a bit foolish.
They may get vouchers like most of the people who innocently booked prior to the lock down.

As I said it didnt happen for those people who booked prior to lock down why should it be any different now. Some did get refunds but had to jump through hoops to get them.
The airlines have a refund policy, if the cancellation was out of their control you don't get a refund, you just get another flight for another time.

So do you have the test before you fly from the UK or have the test when you get there
Hope its quick may have to bring a packed lunch while in the queue with the other 2/3 hundred
How will they cope should be fun

Lin n vic

It does seem from reading other places that the airlines are bringing people back to Cyprus that have property hear and or live here...
Because the flight is going ahead and you are booked on it as a holidaymaker .... tough luck ....
The flight is going but you cannot get on it as you do not qualify... But the airlines are taking a srtickter stance now and say that is not their fault..
For those who have Face Book, look on Paphos Chat

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 12:41 am Until the UK gets in house in order and the number of deaths down from 100-150 per day to near zero

It won’t happen unless the government start changing the way they register and then release the true figures. Our son works on a ward that was “converted” to the CV19 ward in a hospital on the South coast and even people with a terminal illness and a very short period of time to live are being registered as CV19 deaths even if they have the only antibodies.

Why oh why should Cyprus pay for the tests, if you decide you want to spend your holidays here, it is your responsibility to take care of your own health and make sure you are not a danger to others.

A friend of mine has booked a regular flight from Paphos with EJ On 3rd Aug. Time will tell what happens. Apparently, EJ have stated that they are only providing water for passengers.They are now expecting passengers to provide their own sandwiches. How awful is that especially with waiting time at the airport, in the cattle pens in Cyprus hot summer weather, before a flight of around 4.5 hrs. to your UK destination?. Wearing a mask.Will Paphos Airport be able to cater for potentially full flights?
She's not looking forward to this now.
As far as repatriation flights are concerned, this is completely different as they are organisedby the Cyprus Govt for mainly Cypriot citizens also some British residents. But you have to find out when/if they are leaving. They are or were done by Wizz Air to/from Larnaca.
Dee

sadie62 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:46 am I am presuming you would know if your flight is classed as a repatriation flight - ie returning Cyprus residents - if you have just booked online in the normal way with a budget airline as a holiday maker, surely the flight won't fly if it's before August 1st as most on board won't be able to enter Cyprus

How would you know if it was a repatriation flight ?? I don't think they are listed as such .
If it is coming from the UK to Cyprus.. what else can it be ??

https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/en/home
Anyone flying back to cyprus must register at this site and will be informed if they can travel or notion line with certain criteria Then if ok 24 hrs before departure time.

This is called the Cyprus Web Portal, and is the way that passengers are required to register by the Cyprus Govt for their Flight Pass, you must also have a negative test certificate for Covid 19. issued by the UK Govt. So far I have been unable to access it to look at the questions to be answered as it doesn't appear to be live. Or maybe its not accessible from Apple devices.

Wonder if this extra rigmarole will put people off from coming here?

Dee