[PIO] From 21 February 2022, the new Action Plan for the smooth conduct of flights and the operation of airports comes into force

From 21 February 2022, the new Action Plan for the smooth operation of flights and the operation of airports will be implemented, following today's decision of the Council of Ministers. For the transitional period from 21 to 28 February 2022, all passengers arriving at Larnaca and Paphos Airports will be required to undergo a PCR test upon arrival, at their own expense.

In addition, the Council of Ministers has decided that the requirements for each category as presented in section C.2. below (passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, regardless of nationality) apply to persons aged 12 years and over, rather than 6 years as previously announced.

Recall that the new Action Plan provides for the following:

A. Categorisation of countries:

From 21 February 2022, the categorisation of countries according to their epidemiological risk will be differentiated and will include three categories with the following colour code: Green, Red and Grey Category. It is clarified that, according to the new Action Plan, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Green and Orange categories correspond to the Green Category of the Republic of Cyprus, while the Red and Deep Red categories correspond to the Red Category of the Republic of Cyprus.

B. Vaccinated or recovered passengers:

1) Vaccinated or Recovered Passengers, regardless of nationality and country of departure, are exempted from the obligation to meet the requirements of the respective category (e.g. presentation of a negative laboratory test result, obligation for self-limitation/quarantine, issuance of a special permit, etc.) in which the State from which they are travelling is categorised. Vaccinated or recovering passengers may enter the Republic of Cyprus provided they meet one of the following conditions:

i. Possess a valid vaccination certificate from the competent authorities of any third country, or

ii.They hold a vaccination or recovery certificate issued by a third State included in the third States that have joined the European Union Digital Certificate System COVID-19 (EUDCC)

(https:/ec.europa.eu/info/publications/commission-implementing-decisions-eu-equivalence-covid-19-certificates-issued-non-eu-countries_en), either

iii.Hold a COVID-19 Digital Certificate of Vaccination or Recovery from the European Union including the countries of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland (EUDCC).

2) The certificate of vaccination or convalescence will be considered acceptable only if all the following conditions apply:

1. It has been issued by the public authorities of the States,
2. The vaccine is one of: Johnson&Johnson/Janssen, AstraZeneca, (Vaxzervia, COVISHIELD, SKBio), Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), Sinopharm (BBIBPCOVID-19), Sinovac (CoronaVac), Covaxin, Sputnik Light (only as booster dose in a basic vaccination regimen) and Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19.
3. Passengers 18 years and over: For travel purposes, the passenger must have received and the booster 3rd dose in case of a bivalent vaccine or the 2nd dose in case of a single dose of one of the above vaccines. Vaccination certificates for passengers who have received two doses of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single dose of a single-dose vaccine shall be accepted only if a period of 9 months has not elapsed since the date of administration of the second dose in the case of a two-dose vaccine or one dose in the case of a single-dose vaccine, respectively.
4. Passengers aged 18 years and under: For travel purposes, a passenger is considered to have completed his/her vaccination schedule if he/she has received the 2nd dose in case of a bivalent vaccine or the single dose in case of a single dose in case of a single dose.
5. The time frame for travel purposes specified by the Ministry of Health and posted on the platform CyprusFlightPass, for each vaccine, has elapsed.
6. In case of a certificate of recovery, the travel date shall not exceed 180 days from the first positive result.

C. Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate:

1) Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, regardless of their nationality, will be allowed to enter the Republic of Cyprus from any state of departure, only if they meet the conditions (e.g.(b) (u(u)nder the conditions (i.e. presentation of a negative laboratory test result, obligation of self-limitation/quarantine, issuance of a special permit, etc.) of the respective category in which the State from which they are travelling has been categorised.

2) Green Category: Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, aged 12 years and over, who wish to travel to the Republic of Cyprus from a Green Category country are required to have a PCR laboratory test valid 72 hours prior to departure or a rapid antigen test valid 24 hours prior to departure.

3) Red Category: Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, aged 12 years and over, who wish to travel to the Republic of Cyprus from a Red Category country are required to:

1. undergo a laboratory PCR test valid 72 hours prior to departure or a rapid antigen test valid 24 hours prior to departure, and
2. undergo a diagnostic PCR test upon arrival at airports in the Republic of Cyprus. The cost of the test shall be borne by the passenger.

4) Grey Category (Special Permission): From Grey Category (Special Permission) countries, only the following categories of passengers are allowed to enter the Republic of Cyprus:

1. Cypriot citizens and their family members (their foreign spouses and minor children).
2. Persons legally resident in the Republic.
3. Persons entitled to enter the Republic in accordance with the Vienna Convention.
4. European citizens, citizens of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland.
5. Persons of third country nationality, who are entitled to enter the Republic of Cyprus, after obtaining a special permission on the electronic platform CyprusFlightPass (https:/cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/el/special-permission-request) granted by the Republic of Cyprus, as specified in the current Fungicide (Determination of Measures to Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus COVID-19) Ordinance.

Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid certificate of vaccination or a valid certificate of recovery, aged 12 years and over, who are permitted to travel to the Republic of Cyprus from a Grey Category country, are required to:

1. undergo a 72-hour pre-departure PCR laboratory test or a 24-hour pre-departure rapid antigen test, and
2. undergo a PCR diagnostic test upon arrival at airports in the Republic of Cyprus. The cost of the test shall be borne by the passenger, and
3. shall remain in a mandatory self-limitation status for 10 days or 7 days provided that they undergo a PCR or antigen rapid test on the 7th day with a negative result at their own expense.
4. With regard to passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate and belong to the cases of domestic workers or any other persons who have obtained prior permission to work in the Republic from the competent Ministries and Departments, as well as to the cases of workers in the agricultural/livestock sector, the previous decision of the Council of Ministers regarding the obligation of prepayment and quarantine in tourist accommodation in the Republic of Cyprus shall cease to apply. It is understood, however, that for such passengers the corresponding Grey Category conditions above will also apply.

It is understood that, in the event of a random check on arrival, all passengers without exception must comply.

With regard to the categorisation of countries in the respective category of the CyprusFlightPass electronic platform, it is stated that:

1. For the Member States of the European Union, the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland, their categorisation by the Ministry of Health on the CyprusFlightPass electronic platform will continue to be based on their categorisation by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in the colour map that will be compiled and published weekly by the ECDC.

With regard to the European Union, EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland member states that will be included in the grey colour of the colour map, which implies that sufficient information was not provided to the ECDC by these states and therefore it is not feasible for the ECDC to assess these states, the Ministry of Health will continue to assess these states and decide on their categorisation on the CyprusFlightPass online platform.

In any case, the categorisation of these states will be from green to red.

2. For the third States included in the updated list of the Council Recommendation of 30.6.2020, as well as for the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Belarus, Serbia, Qatar, Bahrain, United States of America, Armenia, Georgia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America, Kuwait, China (including Hong Kong and Macao), Oman, Vatican City, Monaco, San Marino and Andorra, the weekly assessment and categorisation on the CyprusFlightPass online platform will continue to be carried out by the Ministry of Health.

In any case, these third countries will be categorised by the Ministry of Health, in a similar way to the EU/EEA Member States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway (European Economic Area) and Switzerland, from Green to Red Category.

3. Third countries not included in paragraph 2 will not be categorized by the Ministry of Health and will automatically be classified in the Grey Category (Special Permit/Special Permission Category).

The option of laboratory testing on arrival in the Republic of Cyprus for Cypriot citizens, including foreign spouses and their minor children, for all persons legally resident in the Republic and for persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention, shall cease to exist.

Passengers are reminded that all passengers without exception are required to complete the CyprusFlightPass within 48 hours before the start of their journey.

(MCI)
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