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Thank you! We made it.

First of all, thank you to everyone who keeps up with all the policies and changes and shares with the rest of us. And, thank you to those who are sharing their recent experiences in Italy.

We optimistically booked our Sep 1st trip at the end of last November thinking Covid would not be an issue (the vaccine was going to fix everything). Needless to say, I was thrown into a minor panic Sunday morning when I checked the forum and read about the Covid test requirement. I checked a variety of places that I knew did testing but none had an appointment until Tuesday and none of those would guarantee a rapid turn around. I eventually chose the provider at the Portland airport-they charged a lot but had a Monday appointment and guaranteed results within 24 hours. The money was worth the peace of mind. We did not receive notice of the testing requirement from Delta until Monday afternoon when we were on our way to be tested. Thank you forum.

I filled out the PLF 2 weeks before the flight. Although we went from Portland to Minneapolis to JFK, I did not include the first 2 legs of the trip on the form. My wife filled hers out after online check in and I then edited my own form to include her seat assignment. We were not issued online boarding passes and were told to check in with an agent at the airport. After the agent reviewed the documents, he stamped the final boarding pass "docs ok" and we were on.our way. When we arrived at JFK we were told that anyone whose flight did not originate in New York would need to have their docs checked again but it didn't happen and after temperature check we boarded our flight.

Our 8pm departure was delayed due to baggage and paperwork issues. By the time we left the gate we were 20th in line for take off and the storm that hit New York was building. Four hours later we retuned to the gate and another hour later we were told that the flight was rescheduled for 8pm Thursday. The gate agents told us that as long as we didn't leave the airport, our Covid test result time frame can be extended 24 (or 48-I.don't remember) hours because of a weather delay. Several of my fellow travelers were also told that they didn't need a new PLF even though the flight number and date had changed. I did not hear this myself.

Finally made it to Marco Polo 24 hours late. At passport control we presented our passports and CDC cards and made it out of the airport in about 15 minutes (carry on). Things in Italy are as others have reported, masks inside and a few wear them outside. Our two meals have been outside as the weather is absolutely beauuuutiful here in Cividale del Friuli. We were asked for our CDC card at a museum today. It is wonderful to be back in Italy.

Thanks again to those of you who keep us up to date.

Posted by
13800 posts

Good to read your report and so glad you made it safely. Flying out in the remnants of a hurricane is pretty dicey!

Posted by
3961 posts

Good to hear that despite the challenges you made it! Thanks for sharing your on the ground report. Have a wonderful journey.

Posted by
9459 posts

Michael, that makes me so happy that you were forearmed due to the Forum (and none of the credit goes to me as I haven’t been posting in Italy!). That’s awfully nice of you to come back and report. I hope you have a great trip now that you are there.

Posted by
870 posts

Great that you are so kind to report in! Have a great trip!

Posted by
11 posts

Thank you for the update. Although travel is never without its adventures, that layover at JFK probably felt like one hurdle too many. But you made it. And, it sounds as if you are delighted to be in Italy. I agree: the Travel Forum is so helpful! My husband and I fly next week and I can't wait!

Posted by
2252 posts

Thank you, Michael! It’s wonderful to have in real time, on the ground reports about how things are in Europe. I’m so happy everything (mostly) went off without too much hassle and that you have made it to Italy safely. Have a terrific time, I know you will!

Posted by
98 posts

Thanks so much Michael! We're still trying to stay positive about our late October trip to Italy. And the forum has been fantastic with information. One question from your post though - what is the PLF2 form that you reference? Is it the same as the SELF-DECLARATION FORM FOR TRAVEL TO ITALY FROM ABROAD from the embassy website? And how did you prove your negative Covid test? Paper? Electronically? Thank you, and hope you enjoy!

Posted by
100 posts

Hi Mari, the 2 goes with weeks and not PLF. I could have been clearer on that. We printed all our docs and handed them paper.

Posted by
13 posts

Hi Michael, we were at JFK the same night as you flying American Airlines to Malpensa/ Milano. We were 32nd in line for four hours, returned to gate for an hour, fed us our meal, then we took off at 1 am. Arrived five hours late but grateful to have made it. Similar story. We were on our way to test Tuesday afternoon (because of these boards) when we got the notice from AA. No one looked at our results in CLT or JFK. It Italy there was a brief glance at our results, no look at PLF, just waved us through.

We’re just loving being here and remain flexible.