Austria skiing

[Grayswood]

Meant to heading off to Austria on the 17th December. We booked direct (yes, in hindsight mad) and we won’t get a refund if we don’t go. Anyone else still heading off to Alps this xmas, or are we really stupid? It looks like Austria will be coming out of lockdown tomorrow.

Our Austrian hotel has given up and closed for the winter. They say it is a catastrophe for their business and the small resort we go to.

So that is that😥

Sorry - children born BEFORE Sept 2006

We were supposed to be skiing in Austria for the February half term with DCs 15 and 11. Made the decision yesterday to change the flight to Zurich as Switzerland is being more welcoming to UK visitors, at least for the time being. This may of course change over the next few weeks but the flights can again be changed if necessary.
Feel for those who were due to be going for Christmas/New Year.

There was a huge rush of people arriving from the Netherlands and Denmark on 23rd and 24th December in time to beat the new restrictions, and the resort where I am is quite busy, but still not as busy as usual between Christmas and New Year.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the current guests go home at the weekend - the first week of January is usually quite busy, but the fear is that now the new entry and gastronomy restrictions have kicked in, people will stay away.

Local resort ‘average’ full. Could be as about and winter guests and locals in before new restrictions, will see what happens next week.

Two local restaurants to us have closed and won’t reopen until after Easter earliest.

What are the gastronomic restrictions, @Havanananana?

The websites really are awful! Last year when we were looking to go for our summer holiday in Austria, I actually contacted the embassy as the position on kids was so unclear. I got a very grumpy response just telling me that the information on their website was the information, so no clarity provided at all!

Gastronomy:

Table service only, with tables spaced apart - which reduces capacity. Bars, nightclubs and apres ski closed (no live music or DJ, no "Sweet Caroline" and no dancing on tables!) although it is still possible to get a beer or wine etc. at a mountain hut or restaurant in the village. All restaurants close at 22.00.

@Doubleraspberry - only 2g entry ( so vaccinated or recovered certified only), only sitting in general, closed by 10pm.
There’s a few others and depends on region exactly, but it pretty much writes off apres ski, groups mingled to drink, late night, and entry by anyone unvaccinated.

The rules are so confused. We managed to arrive with no problems on Xmas Eve but were triple vaccinated and our two children are very young. The plane was half empty though, I'm sure it will be even quieter after New Year.

The Austria Government website is now updated (as of 12.00 on 28/12) > www.oesterreich.gv.at/en/themen/coronavirus_in_oesterreich/pre-travel-clearance.html

Quote:

Minors traveling in the company of an adult:

Up to the age of twelve: no separate proof required (the adult's proof also applies to the minor);

Between six and fifteen years of age: Fulfilment of the testing interval of the "Ninja" passport replaces any proof of low epidemiological risk; this means that proof of two PCR tests and one antigen test in a five-day period is sufficient in itself and no further proof needs to be provided; this replaces the otherwise required 2G+ proof;

Ages 15 and older: The general entry regime applies, and therefore the minor must provide the required proof on his or her own.

--

[The Ninja Pass usually applies to 15 year olds born after 1st September 2006 - but this website says "Ages 15 and over" - so again, it's confusing. It is probably best to assume that the requirements for all 15 year olds are the same as for adults - 2x vax + booster + 48 hour PCR]

Ah, thanks. We are a family with small kids staying in a hotel so unaffected by the restaurant rules, although I can quite see how devastating they are for many places.

We got to Austria about 2 hours ago, absolutely no checks at the border. My husband was a bit of a 'told you so' and pointed out that it was a good thing we didn't fork out almost 300€ on pcrs. I've been worrying about the smallest 9f things and didn't sleep last night for worry.

Very frustrating news for those turned away at Innsbruck however I can't see how it happened. It was quite clear what the rules were from entering the UK. This isn't the fault of easyjet. Or maybe I've lived in Germany so long I'm just used to having to look things up for myself. 🙈

The point about the airlines getting it wrong is that they are a) supposed to know the rules and b) the affected passengers should not have been allowed to board in the UK. Imagine getting as far as Innsbruck or Salzburg airport only to have to tell the kids that they are not having a skiing holiday after all and that they are on the next plane back to the UK.

Some airlines need to up their game. In the 2 weeks before Germany banned entry from the UK, more than one airline was incorrectly turning passengers away who were trying to fly from the UK to Munich and then travel on to Austria by rail or by car, wrongly claiming that at that time, they needed tests and a Passenger Locator Form for Germany - neither of which was necessary.

@Havanananana

The point about the airlines getting it wrong is that they are a) supposed to know the rules and b) the affected passengers should not have been allowed to board in the UK. Imagine getting as far as Innsbruck or Salzburg airport only to have to tell the kids that they are not having a skiing holiday after all and that they are on the next plane back to the UK.

Some airlines need to up their game. In the 2 weeks before Germany banned entry from the UK, more than one airline was incorrectly turning passengers away who were trying to fly from the UK to Munich and then travel on to Austria by rail or by car, wrongly claiming that at that time, they needed tests and a Passenger Locator Form for Germany - neither of which was necessary.

Yep, BA made great efforts to make my husband fill in the form when he did exactly that in November in the pre-flight stuff he was sent. Luckily no one at the airport or German border control was concerned that he hadn’t done it when he explained he was transiting.

It’s really shocking the airlines didn’t have chapter and verse although I see everyone is blaming the Austrian government for outdated information online. I imagine EasyJet will be trying to argue against the fines incurred for bringing the passengers across.

On the "British In Austria" forum, someone has posted that they were told at Stansted today that as they were fully vaccinated and had the booster, they did not require a negative PCR test for their flight to Austria. Luckily they knew the rules and had had the PCR test.

It’s really shocking the airlines didn’t have chapter and verse although I see everyone is blaming the Austrian government for outdated information online

Not excusing the airlines but TBF to them some governments are not very good at promulgating all the rule changes promptly, accurately and without error or omission via a single portal.

Unfortunately it has sometimes taken a day or two and some really unfortunate experiences to discover exactly how Border control/police in country A, B or C have decided to interpret a particular piece of legislation.

It really shouldn’t be like that and normally there’s enough notice of rule changes for those who vet these things (language/legal skills possibly required) to have a good look at things and then promulgate them in a readable form to front line staff…ATM they are probably snowed under by the rate of change.

@notimagain

It’s really shocking the airlines didn’t have chapter and verse although I see everyone is blaming the Austrian government for outdated information online

Not excusing the airlines but TBF to them some governments are not very good at promulgating all the rule changes promptly, accurately and without error or omission via a single portal.

Unfortunately it has sometimes taken a day or two and some really unfortunate experiences to discover exactly how Border control/police in country A, B or C have decided to interpret a particular piece of legislation.

It really shouldn’t be like that and normally there’s enough notice of rule changes for those who vet these things (language/legal skills possibly required) to have a good look at things and then promulgate them in a readable form to front line staff…ATM they are probably snowed under by the rate of change.

I agree. I have been following rule changes in quite a few countries as I have a single vaccinated 14yo so travel is very tricky.

The rules are often badly communicated by governments, especially immediately after each rule change.

I have found conflicting rules on official sites, both pertaining to be fully up to date. Ambiguous wording is another huge problem, plus different terms for the same thing- and I think this is exacerbated by translation issues.

I appreciate how hard it must be to communicate things clearly and unambiguously- but it's a huge issue for travellers.

Most of us are fully committed to following the rules, filling in the forms, getting the tests etc.. But doing this correctly can be really hard.

It really shouldn’t be like that and normally there’s enough notice of rule changes for those who vet these things (language/legal skills possibly required) to have a good look at things and then promulgate them in a readable form to front line staff…ATM they are probably snowed under hmm by the rate of change.

The airlines are really not snowed under - the only changes have been for entry to France, Germany and Austria and these did not all occur at the same day. They employ teams of lawyers and have a trade association but still cannot get the rules correct.

For example, despite all of the well-reported problems that over 100 passengers encountered when they landed at Innsbruck at the weekend, which resulted in almost all of them being sent back to the UK, there are still airlines that are stating that Pre-Travel Clearance forms are required for Austria (for most people, they are not) and that the PCR test has to be less than 48 hours old at the time of departure from the UK, which is also incorrect - the rule is that the test has to be less than 48 hours on on arrival in Austria.

The airlines also should have a massive vested interest in getting this right as they will be fined for transporting passengers who aren’t able to enter the country.

I'm feeling sick with stress about our ski trip. Due to fly 8th Jan. We've booked 4 hour result PCR tests at the airport for way out. & 2 lots of tests to get back in UK. Then extra tests for kids. I'm just off to reread the Austrian entry rules as I'm convinced I'm going to miss something & get turned away.

The airlines are really not snowed under - the only changes have been for entry to France, Germany and Austria and these did not all occur at the same day. They employ teams of lawyers and have a trade association but still cannot get the rules correct.

I’m aware of how it should work and in normal times
, when there were probably only a handful of significant changes a year the departments you mention could cope.

Sadly I do know that despite the theory some operators have been struggling to get accurate info out promptly to at least some front line staff…

FWIW we’ve got another example of how it is or isn’t working overnight with in another branch of the travel industry - Eurotunnel’s interpretation of French law with regard to transit by road.

But equally, the changes were announced days in advance, they impacted a limited number of destinations (Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna) and a limited number of flights, so it should have been a fairly simple task, and a priority, for the airlines to keep abreast of the changes, to inform their front-line staff and even to inform the passengers (as they would have pre-flight contact details for almost all passengers).

As I posted above, some are still not providing accurate information to their passengers almost a week after the new rules came into force.

Ok specifics of Austria I’ll stand corrected.

OTOH in Dec one of the three countries you mentioned upthread announced a big chunk of changes, big public fanfare, coverage in the UK media.

Takes two’ish days for the proposals to get through the legislative process, during which time some significant/important changes were made to the detail.

The government only got the final version of the rules on it’s various official websites in a late evening, about 12 hours before the rules actually came into effect..so very little time for anybody in the UK to go through in any detail, let alone get a “CliffsNotes” version promulgated to customer facing staff.

The rules for entry into Germany have changed again. However got to give it to them I think there the rules are always clear. However they do seem to introduce the changes in what seems to be the final hour for those with school aged children. I know plenty of people who have had to cancel Christmas plans to only now discover they could have gone after all.

Does anyone know if Austria have any stipulations about the timings between the 2 doses and the booster? And if there’s a limit in how long they consider them all to be valid for?

I was very early getting all 3 - my booster was in September.