Hello
My husband and I and three minor children are traveling to Italy this month. From what I have read, each adult needs to fill out the PLF which we have done. I listed our minors on both of our forms. Is this the correct thing to do?
Also, the rapid antigen is ok within 72 hours of arrival from what I see? We are central time so Rome is 7 hours ahead. I assume that needs to be figured in?
Thanks!
Each adult does need to fill out the PLF, there is also a place to add family adults, and minors on each one. Print them out, the airline will want to know you have it, but likely, from there no one will ask for it.
Rapid test is fine, up to 72 hours, again, the airline is the only one to check, so you need results for boarding. The time difference is not a factor, just think of it as a 72 hour clock ticking from the testing time.
All people over 12 should be vaccinated and have a card.
I would like to chime in here if I could? trying to figure out the best time to get my test. If my flight leaves Friday at 745 AM, with connections and layover I don’t arrive in Italy until Saturday at 10:45. If i need to take the test 72 hours before arrival, then that would be 1:45 my time Thursday obviously doesn’t work . In a nutshell, they not taking into consideration the time change? It is 72 hours from arrival their time i.e 10:45 am their time would be the same as 10:45 my time? Clear as mud?
I think people are overthinking the 72 hours. Time change is not a factor, think of it as from the time of testing, a 72 hour clock is ticking, will then you be in Rome? using your local time if you wish.
Beyond that, the Italian Government has delegated the check of the test to the airlines, so they will check your test either at check-in, or at the least as you are boarding your transatlantic flight. They likely will just look...was the test in the last couple days...great..if it looks like 3 days, then they may start looking at hours. In Rome (or other entry point), other than an unusual spot check, no one will look at the test...or for that matter the ePLF.
Hi Tina, I may be wrong but wouldn't your 72 hours start at 1:45 Wednesday morning? You could take the test anytime after that. The Portland airport test facility was guaranteeing a 24 hr turnaround time when we were tested. Our results came in about 15 hrs but they are expensive. Or, depending on when you are leaving schedule somewhere less expensive. We were pressed for time and willing to pay the $150.
Hi. In regards to my question, I have information from our arrival. They checked our covid cards and tests briefly in Atlanta. They asked about PLF and barely glanced at it. We had a connection in France and had to go through passport control. They asked for covid cards and test. When we arrived it Italy, no one checked anything. We walked out of airport under sign saying nothing to declare. It is 72 hours from arrival. So if arrival is Tuesday at 1100 am Italy, the earliest you can get tested is Saturday at 1100 am.
It has been smooth as far as showing CDC cards to get in anywhere.
Thank you everyone for your helpful and useful information! And yes Paul, you are 100% correct -- totally overthinking! :-)
At Sea Tac airport now for flight to Rome via Amsterdam.
Here’s what I did.
Purchased a 2 pack of Binax now rapid antigen tests on optum.com for 69.99 . ( the tests with a live proctor) Received within 48 hours.
I logged into emed.com to do the test. ( prior to logging in I downloaded the NAVICA app as reccomended and created a login. This is where your test results will be. They also e-mailed them to me as well.
I took my test via my laptop last night. I only had to wait one minute for a live proctor who walked me through the very easy steps to take it. I held the QR coded from the package in front of the laptop camera and that is how they connect your results to the test. You keep the test in view of the camera without touching for 15 minutes and there’s a timer on the screen counting down. At that point you can walk away . A live person pops back on as soon as the time is up and you once again hold the test results to the back laptop camera so they can scan .
My results showed up in NAVICA right away . The QR code on the app also shows the time since the test was taken . I used my phone to show results to the gate agent and checked in for my flight to Italy no problem. For $35 .
One place near the airport was asking $185 for a lab molecular test with same-day results. Italy accepts both .
Hope this helps!
Amber
BLESS you person who shared about your Binax test experience - I just bought a batch of these online last night, hoping that was going to be sufficient for getting into Italy in 10 days... so glad to hear that worked!!
No problem! :) I got the idea from someone else on here in a another post .
Amber
An update based on my personal experience:
We arrived in Rome last night (September 23) and took the train to Florence.
After jumping through hoops to get a Covid test within 72 hours of arrival in Rome and get the results back before my flight out of Seattle, NO ONE HAS ASKED FOR or looked at my negative test results. I thought I would have to show it to board my flight, although, since I had a connection in Frankfurt, most passengers on that flight weren’t going to Italy and didn’t have this requirement, so, I thought, that’s why it wasn’t checked. I thought it would be when I boarded the leg in Frankfurt for Rome. No. Nor when I arrived in Rome. I’m not complaining: I think it’s a good idea to require it, I wouldn’t consider taking the risk not to have it, and I would feel safer believing everyone coming from high caseload countries had had such screening. But I’m perplexed by the lack of enforcement. Maybe it’s assumed that no one would deliberately take the chance of sneaking by without the test.
My proof of vaccination was checked, both before boarding the first flight and on the train (although not before boarding the train). We’ll see how museum monitoring goes over the next few days.
sueannallen1 Thank you so much for this info! Please do keep us posted on how it goes for you.
sueallen1
Basically, it was a failure of your airline, they are the ones tasked with checking that you have had a test. I find it odd that they asked for your CDC card, since that is not really an entry requirement, it just eases travel once there. It could very well be they confused German and Italian requirements, but should have seen your final destination on the ticket was Italy.
If you were travelling on a single ticket the Airlines employees in Seattle should have known your final destination and checked the CDC card and the test.
