On July 1, covid passports began to operate – first reviews

Since July 1, the covid passport, which allows travel to the EU countries, has received an official status, and 200 million Europeans have become its owners. The first day turned out to be difficult, demonstrating the shortcomings and lack of perfection of the document.

The main purpose of such a certificate is to prove the absence of coronavirus in its owner and to ensure the safety of movement within the EU. However, the reality turned out to be not so simple, says euronews. According to the European Commission, by Wednesday evening, 26 countries, with the exception of Ireland, were connected to the system. For Brussels airport employees, the day was, however, the busiest in the entire period of the pandemic. Maaike Andris, spokesman for Brussels Airlines, says:

This is a long-awaited solution, but, unfortunately, it is not finalized, and we cannot use the certificate to its fullest. We tried today to read the QR code that is on the certificate, but it was difficult to determine its validity. In Europe, each country still uses its own restrictions. This means that even fully vaccinated passengers from some countries must still carry a negative PCR test result. And if we are not sure of the validity of the QR code, then we do not have enough data to accept such a passenger.

About 20,000 people arrived that day at the airport in the Belgian capital. Most of them were optimistic about the opportunity to travel again. Some expressed their opinion to journalists about the covid passport. Evryn, for example, was going to visit relatives, but her certificate does not prove the absence of infection:

I only got the first injection, so it doesn’t help me. I think the most important thing is the PCR test, because I am not fully vaccinated.

Glen is going on vacation to Greece after an exhausting year and a half spent at home. He arrived at the airport with enthusiasm long before check-in, but due to an unprecedented line at document checks, the flight was delayed. However, he does not lose heart:

The process is very slow. We’ve been here for four hours, but we’re resting now. There is a time for a beer.

The main problem today is its own tourism policy for each country. However, the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders hopes that the certificate will help solve it – if, of course, new strains do not sprinkle like a cornucopia:

Normally, if the rules are followed, the certificate is sufficient, except in the case of some negative changes. We are watching with dismay new options such as Delta +. It is currently available in some countries.

Initially, it was assumed that a covid passport would save the passenger from the need for additional testing or being in quarantine upon arrival in another state. But the member states reserve the right to introduce new restrictions in the event that the epidemiological situation in the tourist’s place of residence worsens.

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