Portugal Introduces New Rules for Passengers From United Kingdom and Brazil

The Portuguese Government has introduced new rules for travelers using air transport, the initial place of origin of which is the United Kingdom or Brazil, due to the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision is valid for all persons who stopped or made a transit through countries whose airports are authorized by Portugal as well.

The decree published in Diário da República ensures that all passengers coming from the United Kingdom or Brazil will be treated equally, just like those coming to Portugal using direct flights from their origin country.

The Portuguese Government announced that all flights coming or going to the United Kingdom and Brazil will be suspended until March 16. The only allowed flights are the essential ones and the instances when people are returning to their homeland, AtoZSerwisPlus.pt reports.

Therefore, starting from March 7 until March 16, 2021, passengers flying from the United Kingdom and Brazil that have made stopovers or transits through airports of the countries authorized by Portugal are required to:

–          Present a negative PCR test conducted no longer than 72 hours before arrival. Exceptions are only made for children younger than 24 months.

–          Follow the rules of Portugal for self-isolation for a period of 14 days. The self-isolation can be done at home, in a place indicated by the health authorities, or in an adequate place inside the airport if they have to wait for a transit flight.

The announcement also highlighted that the airline companies have to submit a list of passengers using the United Kingdom or Brazil’s airports as ?”|transit, to the health authorities.

Previously, Portugal warned it would present a proposal to EU authorities to recover the freedom of movement within the European Union.

Portuguese Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition Pedro Siza Vieira asserted that the new measures would be proposed for short, medium, and long terms in order to restore the movement within the EU under a short period.

Furthermore, the European Commission’s Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said that the Commission would present a proposal to establish a free-transit digital passport and introduce the proposal on March 17.

Earlier in February, Czechia added Portugal to the red list of countries with a high risk of Coronavirus spread. In comparison, Lithuania eased the rules for all arrivals from Portugal.

Up to this date, Portugal had a total of 810,459 Coronavirus cases, 16,565 deaths, 732,346 recovered inhabitants, and 61,548 current active cases.