The bad: I flew out from Heathrow to Zurich on the 16.11.20. Queued for 2 hours to get through security. Assumed I'd missed flight, instead a completely packed long haul plane (Boeing 777?) was waiting for the 100 or so other passengers who were still behind me.

The better: I have had three flights (all Zurich to Heathrow) cancelled by BA since then, but on each occasion I have received a full refund within a couple of weeks.

In my experience refunds take a long time to happen and have to talk on the phone for a long time

Try writing a registered letter to the airline. At some point last year the Swiss and EU authorities emphasized that the responsibility for refunds lies with the airlines. I'm sure a link was posted here somewhere to the relevant regulations. Ask the airline to provide documentation so far regarding what they have done to refund gotogate. Do they have a case number, etc. Give them a deadline to respond. We even included our banking info and said we expected the money by X date.

Following that, gotogate got in touch with us and refunded the money, minus a processing fee. I have the impression that airlines have been refunding but gotogate has been holding the cash, so you have to do some extra legwork.

That's never taken place on any Swiss, BA or Easyjet flight that I've been on during the entire Covid saga (probably 50+ flights in total).

True nothing more exciting than getting a bus the days pre Covid. I enjoy the ease of travel/empty airports at the moment but we know it won’t last forever and will come back with extra bureaucracy.

2 weeks ago I checked in at Zurich 50 mins before departure, waltzed through to gate with time to spare no need for lounges or restaurants to waste time in. Long May it last.

My partner has had four Brussels-Basel cancellations since September (one on EasyJet, the other three Brussels Airlines). None of them have been refunded; luckily they were all very cheap.

It appears that when travelling back from Uk to Switzerland you no longer need to do the ten day quarantine.

Does anyone know if that is right?

This thread has helped on travelling from Switzerland to the Uk. I wonder what happens to the return flight and tests and quarantine

That is correct, the UK is no longer on the list of countries requiring quarantine upon return.

List

So from Switzerland to the Uk requires quarantine in the Uk

From Uk to Swiss does not.

If that is correct then the days of weekly commuting and spending weekend in London might be back on the cards.

Someone travelling Friday night returning Monday to Zurich would only have to quarantine in London for a weekend which is not so bad

Weekly commuters are exempt from the quarantine anyway (and have been for months):

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ar-work-abroad

However you're not exempt from tests both ways to fly and now if you're there over 3 days you're supposed to have their Day 2 test as well (109 quid) plus a separate test to get back because the Day 2 test doesnt provide a certificate to fly. You do have to prove your employer and stuff as well they're getting a lot more rigorous at checking proof of employment and other things in the last 6-8 weeks (vs not checking my locator form once in over a year before that)

Anybody been to The Netherlands lately?

I have been invited to a wedding and am of two minds whether to go or not.

I'd probably have to quarantine when arriving and quarantine when coming back.

Anybody been there recently or have any insights or actual experiences to share?

I managed to get two Swiss flights refunded.

Getting anything done by phone proved pretty difficult, but I then went to the Swiss sales office at Zürich airport in person and got the refunds within 30 seconds.

I did this once in November and once in February.

Here's the skinny for my recent ZRH-DXB-ZRH trip.

The simple stuff: it works, there is not much in the way of delays but it pays to have your ducks in a row.

Masks (of course) - COVID test in ENGLISH (I saw a guy turned back at ZRH because his was German only) - fill out your API online as this also makes life easier. Swiss also seemed to want health insurance cards and policies printed but only the check-in agent looked at it.

ZRH lounges are presently non-functional as they are classified as restaurants. There is carry out provided which actually is not bad.

Emirates. PCR test is checked otherwise all is normal. DXB is mostly open, just with mask obligation. Bear in mind that over 50% of the population is vaccinated right now.

Return is slightly different. Print your completed registration for returning to Switzerland and have your PCT test ready. Did I mention PRINT PRINT PRINT? It saves time in both directions because I saw plenty of people messing about with phones and taking much longer than we did. Lounges might be open in your destination airport, that depends on the local restrictions. Expect spacing and crap food compared to normal.

Immigration at ZRH only cares about passport (duh) and PCR test. The carrier cares about the fed office of health form as above.

The planes are jam-packed if you're going and returning from a location not on the quarantine list. Forget the spacing but they give antibac wipes on the plane.

Print everything you need and make sure you get the list complete for your destination and return.

If you take out the testing requirements, it takes marginally longer and is OK. We survived!!

Hi guys, so the trip took place as planned

Hardly anyone at ZH airport (10mins line to check in, common for all Swiss airline passengers), practically no queue at security.

The flight to the US was quite empty (4 middle row seats to myself).

The longest part of the trip was immigration in Chicago (self check-in seems to have been temporarily suspended, everyone stood in the same line incl cabin crew).

We have a vacation in Florida planned for this summer. We booked this in December 2019, before Covid hit us. We will be flying with Swiss.

US borders are still closed for us (I am not an American citizen nor have a Green card) so I hope they open up soon. The EU has already said vaccinated Americans are welcome, so I expect the US to demand the same.
Luckily, we managed to schedule both vaccine shots well in time for our vacation.

The only thing I am concerned about is the federal requirement for everyone age 2 and older to wear a mask for the duration of the flight (in- as well as outbound). My 6 year old will understand, but there's no way I can make my 2 year old do this. We are training him, but I doubt he will comply for 10 long hours.

I'm crossing my fingers for you as well as for me, I want to go to the US this autumn and will be vaccinated then.

From my experience on flights, Swiss, they will be looking at proper mask wearing when boarding and moving around but the rest of the time, they are not going to be in your face about it. Especially as everyone coming onboard for the flight will typically be vaxed or have a recent PCR test.

Alitalia disappears by Oct 15 2021. Flights after that date will not served, reimbursement under request.

https://www.alitalia.com/en_it/fly-a...5-october.html

To be replaced by ITA! Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

I think it may depend on the crew. Your mileage may vary. I've not experienced this myself but have heard from people I know that they can be quite anal if they feel like it.

Boarding procedures typically follow airport regulations. I don't think airlines have much scope to overrule those.

A friend of mine recently returned from a country I won't name right now so as not to encourage this type of thing, but it turned out he had the wrong test and a police officer at the airport told him in is face that a bribe was cheaper than a PCR test and faster too. Came out at about one third the price. Makes one wonder how many other people on that flight had chosen that option.