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Home » Reader question » Reader question: PCR test for Thai travelers with KLM or not?
Reader question: PCR test for Thai travelers with KLM or not?
Dear readers,
I'm a bit confused about a PCR test. My Thai girlfriend is flying back to Thailand from Schiphol next week with KLM. She is not going on a repatriation flight because I have booked an ASQ hotel for her. I also already have a CoE from the Thai embassy in The Hague for her. And I am arranging a Fit to Fly document at Medimare.
Now I receive an e-mail from KLM that all travelers must be able to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR test, otherwise they will not be allowed on board. Surely that does not apply to Thai travelers with a CoE or have the rules changed again?
Who can tell me about it?
Regards,
Mark
Dear Mark, if KLM makes it a condition that a negative PCR test is required to board, there will be little else to do than to undergo such a test. KLM will want this to be able to deliver non-contaminated people to Bangkok. Incidentally, the site of the Thai Embassy in The Hague reports that airlines do indeed have the right to demand such Covid tests. On this site you can link to a PDF dated November 9th regarding specifically returning Thai nationals.
https://hague.thaiembassy.org/
See further: https://klmhealthservices.com/reisvoorbereiding/coronatest/
This is an automatic email from KLM, which makes no distinction in nationality. A well-intentioned, but bad action. The email indicates that the Thai government has changed the rules. I have been in contact with Medimare and the Thai embassy. Both assure me that a PCR test is not necessary. The embassy has also confirmed this to me in writing. The KLM email also refers to an information site. It is also stated here that a fit to fly declaration is sufficient. And the embassy's website still indicates this. The embassy has informed me that it has warned KLM about this misleading email.
True what you say. I know the e-mail, KLM does indeed make no distinction between Thai and farang. The CoE explicitly states that Thai citizens have access to Thailand. A Fit to Fly document is mandatory. It is a pity that people keep responding to the reader's questions that just raise something. Kind of like hearing the bell ringing but not knowing where….
Perhaps KLM, etc., would like to see a corona-free declaration to limit the risk of contamination on board their staff and travelers? The Fit to Fly statement is 100% bureaucratic nonsense, a Covid test does not give complete certainty either, but it does remove some of the people before they can infect others at the airport and on the plane.
It has already been noted by Cornelis, who was in the ASQ, that it is strange that foreigners have been tested on the plane among Thai people who have not been tested. If you read the KLM e-mail, they also talk about the requirements set by the Thai government, so they are not the requirements set by KLM.
But I just tracked down the e-mail in question:
The authorities of Thailand have taken additional measures to prevent further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Make sure you come to the airport well prepared and check what you need to do before boarding.
COVID-19 PCR test mandatory
To enter BANGKOK, you must bring the printed, negative test results of your COVID-19 PCR test in English. Be sure to get tested within 72 hours of departure. We cannot allow you on board your flight if you cannot provide a negative test result. On arrival you can be tested again and you may have to be quarantined.
Meet local entry requirements
You need additional travel documents or medical certificates to enter the country you are traveling to or in which you are transferring. We cannot allow you to board your flight if you do not meet local entry requirements. Check what applies to your trip. Check this regularly. Due to the uncertain situation we are currently in, local requirements are subject to last minute changes.
We apologize for any inconvenience. We hope for your understanding during this challenging time. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at KLM.com.
We look forward to welcoming you on board again!
Yours faithfully,
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
It's a strange email anyway: 'You may need to quarantine'. An understatement, everyone must be quarantined also Thai.
Perhaps it is of no use to the questioner. I have now asked KLM whether the requirement for a PCR test is one imposed by KLM or the Thai government. Haven't received an answer to that yet. If I even get a satisfactory answer. It strikes me that KLM excels in giving general and therefore not very illuminating answers.
Lufthansa imposed the same obligation on my Thai friend, although she didn't need it for her CoE. Several airlines have adjusted their regulations in this regard.
My Thai girlfriend returned to Thailand on December 18 with an SQ repatriation. She had not undergone a PCR test, because that was not necessary for Thai. The KLM ground staff did not want to let her go, because she could not indicate a hotel where she would stay in quarantine. That caused quite a stir, eventually a manager came in to unnerve the whole thing. A Thai with an SQ repatriation cannot know this either. Delay for the check-in desk was three quarters of an hour. Long live KLM.