We have updated the information available effective 22 January 2021. The updated list is available on here. We expect that the requirements and limitations will most likely be changed in the coming days following the meeting of the EU states late last week.
Below are some highlights, details can be found here.
Belgium
Belgium recently changed the regulation regarding travel abroad. However, there are exemptions for essential workers, which should be applicable to transport staff e.g., pilots.
France
France is introducing new PCR test requirements for persons entering the country. It is not clear at this point in time, if there will be exemptions for persons transiting France, e.g., from Switzerland to Luxembourg. We expect an exemption, as apparently exemptions are planned for cross border workers. Once this has been verified, the information will be updated.
Germany
A new federal regulation regarding registration and testing requirements when entering Germany CoronaEinreiseV is in force since last week. Some exemptions for Crew Members, cross border workers and persons transiting Germany exist. Due to a possible increase in inspections by the federal police (Bundespolizei) it is recommended to check what may apply in your individual situation.
Please note, that the new federal regulation is in addition to the quarantine regulation published by the 16 German states (Bundesländer), which remain equally applicable governing the state own quarantine requirements. Some of these state regulations, e.g., for North Rhine-Westphalia have been updated recently, possibly affecting pilots residing in this state. We expect that more states will amend their regulations as well.
Luxembourg
While until now no restrictions are in place for Luxembourg, this is most likely to be changed following the meeting of Luxembourg’s government next week Monday. We will update the information for Luxembourg once these become available.
In any case it will be the responsibility of the individual pilot to be aware about the applicable regulations and decide whether an exemption is applicable for your individual situation.
Social Media in times of a pandemic
When positing on social media please consider the audience which could read your posts. We are aware of one case in which a pilot was contacted by the local health authority by email. Until today it could not be verified how the authority got hold of the pilot’s private email address. It can not be ruled out that social media somehow played a role.