Two weeks ago I was preparing for my trip to Ireland. I was very anxious about the Covid requirments for traveling. I'd like to put everyone at ease with some information from my experience.
Aer Lingus has a great app called Verifly. You will create an account and upload all the required information. This makes traveling so much easier. There is a dedicated Verifly line at Logan Airport in Boston and also at Dublin Airport. You want to be in the Verifly line!
As a pre-planner I will admit it was a bit frustrating because you have to wait until 72 hours before your trip to get the Travel Pass completed. This is because of the required Passenger Locator Form. Once within that 72 Hour window you can take a selfie for the pass and upload an image of your Vaccination Card and Passenger Locator Form. One tip, begin creating the Travel Pass (Confident Traveler to Ireland) on your phone but have your computer handy. At one point in the process you must scan a QR code that is sent in an email. It seems to be impossible to do all this without two devices.
At the bag check-in in counter in Boston the attendant was thrilled to see the Verifly pass on my phone. I think I was granted a few favors (seat upgrade) for my efforts. Other travelers in my group did not complete Verifly and left the US without a problem but had to wait in a very long line in Dublin because they did not have this verification. Hopefully we will not have to do this much longer but when steps like this are in place with the airline you are flying, it is important to pay attention and follow their reccomendations.
Coming home from Dublin we had to open up the app and created another Travel Pass (Confident Traveler to US) This time we had to upload the negative covid test from the health clinic we used in Dublin. We stayed at a Rick rrecommended hotel, Buswells. This was and excellent location for the dreaded test. The clinic was a 3 min. walk from Buswells. After a payment of $49 and a quick swab we had an email in our inbox with our results. All negative thankfully. We uploaded this pdf to Verifly and were ready to fly home.
***The Travel Health Clinic is at 7 Dawson Street, Dublin. phone 01 633 4977.* It is a bit hard to locate but if you can find the Hodges and Figgis Bookstore, the clinic is directly across the street. (the street number for the clinic is confusing)
Hopefully we will not have to do this much longer. I encourage everyone to begin traveling back to Ireland. The fares are so low right now. We were warmly greeted all through Dublin and Cork County. Many folks told us how nice it was to hear an American accent again. If not for the shadow of the covid test before traveling home, my week in Ireland would have been perfect. Looking forward to returning soon.
I hope this is helpful to someone. I have always found great advice and information on this site.
Happy Travels
Mary