News from the US is that from Jan 5, all passengers will need to provide a negative Covid test, or proof of recovery, to board a flight to the US.<\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u2019s everything you need to know.<\/p>\n Its zero-covid strategy is being abandoned amidst sky-rocketing case numbers. So much so that it is estimated that up to forty percent of its 1.4 billion have had it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not panic stations yet though, as the same path has been well-trodden by other countries in the past twelve months. But there is international concern over the accuracy of the statistics being reported<\/a>, and more importantly the tests that identify new or potentially dangerous strains of the virus that might emerge.<\/p>\n Which is why we\u2019re seeing new rules again for passengers who have been there.<\/p>\n Ironically there has also just been a big announcement that anyone headed to China no longer has to quarantine<\/strong> from Jan 8. Which means demand for travel back to the US for those who return is about to soar.<\/strong><\/p>\n From 00:01z on January 5, anyone allowing a passenger to board a flight from China to the US will need to see proof of a negative Covid test<\/strong> taken within two days of departure, or certified proof of recovery that is less than 90 days old.<\/p>\n The rule will apply to all flights from mainland China<\/strong>, Hong Kong<\/strong> and Macau<\/strong> including GA\/BA flights.<\/p>\n It will apply to all passengers, including US citizens, regardless of vaccination status.<\/p>\n You can check the official announcement of all this from the US here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new US rule applies to arrivals from Hong Kong and Macau, as well as mainland China.<\/p><\/div>\n Viral tests that have been approved by the CDC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Self-tests (including rapid antigen) are allowed, but must include at least a tele-health service to oversee the test, and certify the results along with the traveller\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n Pax will be able self-test, but it will need to be monitored by an official health agency.<\/p><\/div>\n A certified proof of recovery<\/strong> is also acceptable, provided it meets two requirements – it has to be more than ten days old, but no more than 90.<\/p>\n No, provided passengers have stayed airside, they do not need to meet the new requirement.<\/p>\n Good news, you will be exempt<\/strong>. But you\u2019ll need to be either operating, or positioning on the aircraft. It\u2019s recommended you travel with a letter (paper or electronic) from your employer certifying you meet the requirements of the exemption. Another option for deadheading crew is that they are included on the gendec.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re commuting, travelling for training (such as sims) or flying for other business reasons, bad luck. You will need to meet the same requirements as passengers.<\/p>\n The rule is also extended to passengers who have been in China, Hong Kong or Macau in the past ten days, and are arriving on flights from RKSI\/Seoul, CYYZ\/Toronto<\/strong> or CYVR\/Vancouver.<\/strong><\/p>\n It is likely we\u2019ll see similar testing rules introduced globally, at least in the short term.<\/p>\n Several countries have already announced similar restrictions to the US: Canada, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Morocco.<\/strong><\/p>\n The good news is that there doesn\u2019t appear to be any suggestion of quarantine or entry bans<\/strong> being added back to the mix. Just typical uncertainty of a pandemic-weary world. But we\u2019ll continue to report on major changes that might affect you operationally as we see them.<\/p>\n Especially for crew<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Weren’t expecting to be trussed up like the xmas turkey? We need to hear from you!<\/p><\/div>\n China has had some of the most confusing and inconsistent<\/strong> entry rules since the start of the pandemic. They seem to vary from port-to-port. With the promise that crew no longer need to quarantine on a widespread scale, we\u2019d love to hear from you<\/a> if you\u2019re headed there \u2013 especially if you encounter something you weren\u2019t expecting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s mixed news from China. On the one hand, it is finally about to get…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":20862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[109,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-20853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20853"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20882,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20853\/revisions\/20882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What\u2019s going on in China?<\/h4>\n
Enough of that. What\u2019s the impact?<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1024x683.jpg\")
What type of tests will be accepted?<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/6d8b96c0-7579-11ec-bf3f-e4fee98e21ac-1024x683.jpg\")
I\u2019ve just had Covid. Do I need to test?<\/h4>\n
I\u2019ve only transited through China, do I still need to test?<\/h4>\n
What about crew?<\/h4>\n
Another gotcha.<\/h4>\n
What is the rest of the world doing?<\/h4>\n
If you’re headed to China, we recommend calling ahead.<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/249038-1024x707.jpg\")