The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works reminds that, following the decision of the Council of Ministers, from tomorrow, 18 April 2022, the new Action Plan for the smooth conduct of flights and the operation of airports will be implemented.
Specifically, the new Action Plan provides for the following. Categorisation of countries:[/U][/B]
From 18 April 2022, the categorisation of countries according to their epidemiological situation is abolished.
B. Cyprus Flight Card - CyprusFlightPass:
From 18 April 2022, the obligation to complete and obtain the Cyprus Flight Card - CyprusFlightPass is abolished.
C. Entry requirements to the Republic:
From 18 April 2022, for the purpose of travelling to the Republic of Cyprus, passengers must meet the following requirements and carry the relevant supporting documents:
1. Vaccinated or Recovered Passengers:
Vaccinated or Recovered Passengers, irrespective of nationality, will be allowed to travel to and enter the Republic of Cyprus from any state of departure without the requirement of a laboratory test, provided that one of the following conditions is met:
- Hold a digital European or third country equivalent COVID-19 certificate of vaccination or recovery, or
- Hold a valid certificate of vaccination from the competent authorities of any third country, provided that the required doses of vaccine acceptable to the Republic of Cyprus have been completed.
i) The certificate of vaccination shall be considered acceptable, only if all the following conditions apply[/B]:
- It has been issued by the public authorities of the States.
- The vaccine is one of: Johnson&Johnson/Janssen, AstraZeneca, (Vaxzervia, COVISHIELD, SKBio), Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), Sinopharm (BBIBPCOVID-19), CovoVax, Sinovac (CoronaVac), Covaxin, Sputnik Light (only as booster dose in a basic vaccination regimen) and Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19.
- 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 and the booster 2nd dose in case of a single dose, of one of the above vaccines, with no expiry date for the 3rd or 2nd dose respectively. Vaccination certificates for passengers who have received two doses of a bivalent vaccine or one dose of a mono-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 bivalent vaccine or one dose in the case of a mono-dose vaccine, respectively.
- Passengers under 18 years of age: 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 1st dose in case of a single dose in case of a single dose, without an expiry date of the 2nd or 1st dose respectively.
- With the exception of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, for which a period of 14 days must have elapsed between the administration of the vaccine dose and the date of travel, passengers may travel to the Republic of Cyprus immediately upon completion of the required doses of acceptable vaccines.
ii) The digital European or third country equivalent certificate of recovery shall be considered acceptable, if all the following conditions apply:
- It has been issued by the public authorities of the States,
- The date of travel does not exceed 180 days from the first positive result.
For control purposes on arrival, passengers must present a paper or electronic version of their vaccination certificate or certificate of convalescence.
It is noted that passengers who have been vaccinated or recovered in countries that have joined the EU's COVID digital certificate system are allowed to travel to the Republic of Cyprus only if they hold a valid digital European or third country equivalent COVID-19 vaccination or recovery certificate as evidence.
2. Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate:
Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, irrespective of their nationality, will be allowed to travel to and enter the Republic of Cyprus from any State of departure, if they fulfil one of the following conditions:
- have had a laboratory molecular test (RT-PCR) carried out 72 hours before departure, or
- have had an antigen rapid test carried out 24 hours before departure.
Persons under 12 years of age are not required to submit and present a negative PCR or rapid test certificate.
For screening purposes, passengers, aged 12 years and over, who do not hold a vaccination or recovery certificate must present a paper or electronic copy of their test result.
It is clarified that self-tests by passengers who do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate (as described above) are not acceptable for travel purposes in the Republic of Cyprus.
It is understood that in the case of random testing on arrival by either RT-PCR or rapid antigen test or both, all passengers without exception must comply. If they refuse, they will be placed in state quarantine for a period of 10 days unless they undergo a PCR laboratory test before the end of this period. The costs of quarantine and laboratory testing will be borne by the passenger.
It is stressed that those travelling to the Republic of Cyprus must comply with the above mentioned requirements whether it is a certificate of vaccination, a certificate of convalescence or a negative test certificate. Attempting to enter the Republic without satisfying the above conditions constitutes an offence under the Extrajudicial Offences Acts 1997 to 2021, which provide for an extrajudicial fine of €300.
(MKυ)
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