Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate in charge of Transport, assures him:
“TousAntiCovid must become a reference platform in France”
for the resumption of travel.
The government presented, Tuesday, April 27, the functionality "notebook" of its application to 15 million downloads, which now makes it possible to justify, via a QR code, a vaccination or the results of a PCR test.
Currently being tested on flights to Corsica, this French “sanitary pass” could be extended to the overseas departments, Spain or the Netherlands in the coming days.
Read also: These countries that will welcome vaccinated tourists this summer
A solution on which the tourism industry has a lot of hope while, according to the travel companies union, departures planned for the summer of 2021 are down by 90% for long-haul destinations and by 87%. % on medium-haul, compared to pre-Covid.
In the hope of a restart of travel, the main airlines from France have announced numerous openings of flights to destinations in southern Europe and the Maghreb for the summer season.
Between sanitary measures, QR code and reinforced controls, will taking the plane during the summer of 2021 be part of the Stations of the Cross?
Our decryption, step by step.
Before the flight
While it is officially still forbidden to travel for reasons of leisure, nothing prevents the purchase of plane tickets for the summer, either directly or through an online travel agency. As we have mentioned several times, most airlines maintain flexible pricing conditions, offering free flight deferrals and, increasingly, refunds. This is the case with Air France, which gives the possibility of obtaining a refundable credit note valid for one year. For its low-cost Transavia, postponement of the trip free of charge is possible up to 2 hours before departure. Beware of unpleasant surprises if you book with certain very low-cost companies, whose commercial measures are not always very explicit.
Read also: Summer holidays 2021: booking conditions still very flexible
For the vast majority of destinations, a negative PCR test of less than three days will be required.
Recall that despite many rumors, no country has yet prohibited entry to unvaccinated travelers.
It will therefore be possible to embark without having to justify the doses received.
Vaccination can, however, make it possible to avoid many constraints (PCR, quarantine, etc.) in certain destinations: Croatia, Madeira, Greece, Malta, Iceland, etc.
To get a complete picture of the conditions of access to a country when buying a ticket, several sites are compiling up-to-date information.
This is the case of the platform that Iata, the world association of airlines, has just launched: the very comprehensive Destination tracker.
At the airport
When arriving at the airport, the question arises of the passenger route and controls.
In addition, of course, to wearing a mask indoors, French airports are keeping strict measures for this summer: gel dispensers, floor markings, a vacant seat between two seats, cleaning and disinfection of facilities several times a day, lounges for the most part closed, reduction of physical contact as much as possible and automation of controls.
On boarding
It is at this time of the trip that the famous health passes should come into play. The principle: present on boarding (and on arrival) a QR code transmitted by a laboratory, a pharmacy or a health professional certifying d '' vaccination, serological immunity tests or negative PCR to cross borders where such documents are requested.
“Less endless queues at the airport.
Less fraud, this is what TousAntiCovid will allow
,
”
says Jean-Baptiste Djebbari on Twitter.
Read also: Green passport, vaccination passport, health certificate ... A brief vocabulary for travelers in the time of Covid-19
With TousAntiCovid (whose functionality as a health pass has just been validated by the National Commission for Informatics and Liberties) France is the first country in Europe to launch such a measure for travel. While its members are each working on their solution, the European Union will standardize the codes by mid-June as part of its green certificate for travel to Europe. For their part, airlines are also testing other solutions such as AOKpass (Air France) or Travel Pass (Iata's in-house application). It remains to be seen how all these sites which share the same objective will harmonize between now and the summer to avoid that, depending on the companies and their destination, the traveler has to use several applications ...
The idea of this type of solution to facilitate travel seems in any case to gain ground.
According to a study conducted by the company Amadeus, 81% of French travelers would be ready to use digital health passes to allow the revival of tourism.
On board
Once on the plane, wearing a mask remains compulsory: all companies have followed this rule since the resumption of flights in June 2020. Theoretically, only surgical masks (to be changed every 4 hours) are authorized.
FFP2 masks can also be (check with the company).
For the rest, no seats left vacant on board, but the carriers are claiming other health measures.
For Air France, for example: air renewed every 3 minutes, regular disinfection of all contact surfaces, sanitary kit offered on long-haul, adapted on-board catering.
To read also: Surgical mask, FFP2 ... Which model do you need on the plane?
And to return to France?
On several occasions, Emmanuel Macron has let it be known that vaccination against Covid-19 would not be compulsory to return to France. By this summer, the rules for returning to France will change, but at present, from countries in the European area (European Union, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino , Switzerland, Vatican) the requirement is as follows: provide a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours, with no obligation to self-isolate. In the main airports of the territory, temperature checks by thermal cameras are continuing. To find out how to return to France from the rest of the world, refer to the information provided by France Diplomatie.