What about the airlines now that Italy is no longer going to require testing for entry to Italy

Airlines only require testing if the country they are flying to requires it. Once Italy lifts its requirements, so should the airlines.

I'm making an educated guess that as airlines are simply enforcing the rules of the destination country (Italy) -- they should follow suit with this new ruling. Don't know how quickly they will get this all in place in terms of messaging and changing their websites, etc. The only reason I can think of for delay is that perhaps they want to wait until March 15th when the Italian health ministry is set to review its other travel restrictions for arrivals. This is all conjecture on my part.

Thank you for the info!

I agree it is just the airline enforcing the rules of the country you are flying to.

I don't know if you are flying directly from an International Hub or if you have a domestic leg of your trip to get to a hub.

I mention this because when I flew to France in October the Desk Agent at my local airport tried to tell me that a test was necessary. It was not and I knew it so I just told her to keep on reading down her computer page to get to the rules for vaccinated individuals. I was ready to nicely but firmly ask for a supervisor but she either found it or decided I knew what I was talking about. She was not as used to dealing with International travelers so was trying to do her job. This would have been much easier if I'd been leaving from an international hub where they might have been more familiar with rules.

If the rules change March 1 and you fly the 5th you should be OK. I'd probably have the official governmental page (in English) bookmarked on my phone though.

Thank you. We fly from Texas to London and then on to Rome. It is my understanding London has already relaxed a lot of their restrictions so we shouldn't have an issue in jolly old England!

I asked about this in the FlyerTalk forum section for British Airways, as we are also flying to Italy with them on March5. The answer was that the requirements will be updated March 1 and there is no need to get tested. Just be sure you have your vaccination documentation.

Airlines are legally obligated to enforce any entry requirements and verify documentation for the countries they fly to; part of International Carriage rules. Their business organization, the IATA spends a ton of time and money monitoring changes, and provides this information to airlines, that for the most part is what they follow.

If Italy updates the entry requirements, then that information will flow to airlines. For the most part it is immediate, in that they get the official release a couple days before the effectivity dates and update their systems. The only problem would be if you are traveling right on the changes dates. For the most part, you are stuck following the airlines direction, you can try to point out the guidelines or correct them, but if they decide you need a test, you will need a test, so keep track of the airlines guidance.

I was trying to fill out the EUplf for my trip next month, but the last question asks if I'll be having a Covid test before I leave (something to that effect). I guess I need to wait until closer to when I leave so that form will be updated? Or will it be discontinued? I've got plenty of time, but figured I'd see if I could figure it out now, just in case. Oh, I'm flying United,

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lola and Paul good info. Very helpful!