The Irish Government has issued a warning to Irish tourists flying to the EU and the UK.
The Department of Foreign Affairs have said RT-PCR tests are acceptable to enter Ireland but antigen tests are not.
Irish passengers travelling abroad must submit a completed locator form which can be completed online.
They can also use the EU Digital COVID Certificate as evidence confirming that they are vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recovered from Covid-19 or a negative RT-PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival into the country.
Dublin Airport was buzzing with a welcoming atmosphere of thrilled families jetting off on their long awaited holidays.
Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson said: “We welcome at last, the long delayed resumption of restriction free air travel between Ireland, the UK and the EU.” He stated that there was no justification for the 19 day delay that left Ireland, the only outlier in recovering aviation and tourism.
Mr Wilson added “From Monday next, we will be welcoming substantial numbers of Irish families travelling on well-earned holidays to the beaches of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, and we can at long last welcome UK and EU families who are finally able to travel to Ireland to visit friends and relatives who they haven’t seen for over 15 months.”
Aer Lingus advises passengers with a EU digital covid cert based on a non-RT-PCR test (for example, antigen), or those arriving without a cert, will require proof of a negative RT-PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.
Further advice issued by the DFA states “Anyone intending to travel to Spain is advised to confirm the conditions and restrictions that are in place with their tour operator, airline and accommodation provider before travel.”
Children between the ages of 12 and 17 will be required to have a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival to travel into the country, unless they have valid proof of vaccination or recovery.
If you require a COVID-19 test, you can use a local test centre near you or there are two private companies operating at Dublin Airport. RocDoc Health check are carrying out an RT-PCR test €95 with results in 24 hours. Pre booking is essential, the drive-thru testing facility at Dublin Airport is located in the Green Car Park.
Passengers arriving into Ireland from inside EU + Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland with valid proof of vaccination, or evidence they have recovered from COVID within the last 180 days will not need travel-related testing or to quarantine.
If you do not have valid proof of vaccination or recovery, you will need to present evidence of a negative RT-PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival into the country.
Ireland has joined a list of countries in which an ‘emergency brake’ mechanism will be coordinated at EU level to react swiftly to the emergence of a variant of concern or variant of interest, and will allow restrictions and rules to be changed at short notice to accommodate the preventative measures around people entering Ireland.
