The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom recommends that companies flying from China to Finland check pre-test certificates. The start of the corona measures aligned in the EU has become complicated in Finland.
Corona measures aimed at tourists arriving in Finland from China moved a step forward today.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom issued a recommendation to airlines flying from China to Finland, in which it urges the airlines to follow the guidelines outlined in the EU regarding tourists’ corona certificates. When entering the EU, passengers are required to have a pre-test certificate that is no more than two days old.
– Yes, it increases the probability that the airlines will go ahead with the preliminary testing, says Taneli Puumalainen.
The initiation of the EU-aligned corona measures aimed at Chinese tourists has become complicated in Finland due to different interpretations and views.
Already earlier this week, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health gave three airlines flying from China to Finland a guidance letter regarding preliminary tests. The recommendation was addressed to Finnair and two Chinese airlines. According to Finnair, however, the recommendation given by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health did not cause action at this stage. The recommendation of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health does not obligate airlines.
EU guidelines are already widely used in Western European countries
In January, EU member states and aviation authorities made a joint policy on measures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus through tourism from China to the EU. The number of coronavirus infections increased rapidly in China when the country loosened restrictions at the end of last year.
The measures outlined in the EU include prior testing of passengers arriving in the EU region from China. In addition to this, it is recommended, among other things, to use masks on planes flying from China to the EU region, to share information with passengers, to examine the waste water of airplanes and terminals, and to increase the possibility of testing at airports.
The goal is to reduce the spread of possible corona variants from China to Finland and the rest of Europe.
According to Taneli Puumalainen, the EU Health Security Committee has assessed the situation on Monday of this week. According to him, EU countries are already implementing common guidelines on a large scale.
– It seemed that practically all Western European countries with direct flight connections are implementing these measures. There are some countries in Eastern Europe that have announced that they would not implement these measures, says Taneli Puumalainen.