Covid documents for France Ski Trip

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 barbeg 20 Mar 2022

Wisdom sought... I've lost my brain

Off to Chamonix skiing on Saturday, flying Glasgow to Geneva, then bus to Cham ...

What covid docs, covid passes, forms do I need ? 

Tried to work it all out (Switzerland, France...) but I got completely confused. 

Anyone been recently who could help me out ?

Barbeg 

 nickg_oxford 20 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Just returned from Vanoise flying into Geneva. The only thing checked was the covid pass randomly in the ski resorts - either the French AntiCovid (do install this) or (for me) the NHS Scotland Covid app.

I did the EU passenger locator form etc, but nobody ever checked, and now you don't even need masks in shops in france.

Nick

edit: to include Geneva, ps the way back was a logistical disaster, get to the airport 3 hrs before and put your car/house keys in your hand luggage

Post edited at 18:42
 yorkshireman 20 Mar 2022
In reply to nickg_oxford:

Masks aren't needed now in France if it's somewhere that in theory needs the vaccine pass (eg ski resorts and restaurants), only hospitals and public transport (so you will likely need one on the bus) I think still require them although lots still choose to. You can just scan your nhs qr code directly so no need to download the app. I went skiing today in France and nothing was checked. 

No tests needed. Think just the sworn statement which is never ever checked. 

No passenger locator form needed any more going to UK either. 

Post edited at 19:37
 pec 20 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Just back from skiing in France 1 week ago. NHS pass will be needed, though not everywhere which officially should ask for it did. Nobody asked to see the sworn statement (which is a completely pointless form anyway). Nobody was wearing masks in cable cars etc, nearly everyone was in shops (but that might have changed).

As of 2 days ago, you don't need to do the UK passenger locator form before you return now either. That was also a completely pointless waste of time since you stopped needing to self isolate even if you had covid.

 Si Withington 20 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Yep same as the above 👆 Am in Chamonix now and needed NHS app covid pass at Dover/Calais but nothing since. Nothing asked for at ski resorts and hardly a mask in sight. Ironically, I’ve since managed to get flippin’ Covid!! Grrr!! 

1
 Fellover 20 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Just back from Morzine, flight to Geneva then transfer bus. Didn't need any documentation bar passport...

Didn't do an EU PLF, was never asked for one. I couldn't work out whether I was supposed to have one for going to France via Switzerland, I did try and fill one out but it didn't seem to be able to cope with transiting through one country to a final destination in another, so I gave up. Admittedly I didn't try very hard, so maybe it's possible to do one for that scenario.

Theoretically needed a declaration of honour, but I didn't have one and was never asked for one.

Did have my NHS international COVID vaccine pass qr code, but was never asked to produce it.

Didn't do a UK PLF on the way back because it wasn't required, wasn't asked for one.

Basically no mask wearing going on. I wore a mask in bubble lifts on the first day, but gave up when it was obvious that no-one else was (maybe I should have continued regardless, but it seemed a bit pointless).

Edit to add: No negative COVID test required either, in either direction.

Post edited at 22:14
 John Ww 20 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Just back from La Rosiere - no masks anywhere to be seen, either inside or out, and no vaccination passes or anything else ever asked for. Over the border in La Thuile on the Italian side, you’re supposed to have FFP2 masks on the lifts and huts - which everyone pointedly completely ignored. No idea about flying as we were driving back to Germany, where the border crossings were deserted. 

 mike123 21 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

so it would seem that all the BS has been dropped ? I  completely agreed with all the restrictions , formalities , paper work etc at the height of the pandemic  but as things went on and in the last few months a lot of the paper work required didnt keep up with policy. I was happy to do it as it  meant we got to go skiing but elements of it were, at the end, farcical. 

thanks to all who have taken the time to reply to   this and all the other threads on the subject . Its one of the best things about web forums and UKC at its best.

1
 Georgert 21 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Just back from Chamonix yesterday. We drove and were never asked for a single piece of vaccine proof / paperwork all week.

I'd recommend taking your climbing gear if you can fit it in – it's getting mighty hot / muddy up top with not much in the way of new snow forecast! We managed five days of snowboarding but by the end of the week it was getting very slushy so spent a day town cragging at Les Gaillands. 

OP barbeg 21 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

Thanks to everyone who has replied.... very helpful and much appreciated. 

Barbeg

 Pina 21 Mar 2022
In reply to nickg_oxford:

Just to add to this, you definately need 3hrs for Geneva. Took us 3hrs from stepping foot in the airport to getting on the plane (easyJet). Worth paying extra for speedy boarding to save a massive amount of hassle

 Fiona Reid 21 Mar 2022
In reply to Pina:

I'm curious,  is this just Geneva airport being more of a pain in winter than normal (even pre covid it wasn't a pleasant experience) or is the increased time because of more checks due to covid? 

 Pina 21 Mar 2022
In reply to Fiona Reid:

I think it's just easyjet making up for lost money during the pandemic and cramming flights together. There were 25 flights with easyJet within a 1.5hr window, I've never seen the queues that bad. As stated previously, worth getting speedy boarding or flying with a non-budget airline.

That's not counting the 1hour queue at passport control on arrival and another 1 hour for skis to arrive on the belt....

 Fiona Reid 21 Mar 2022
In reply to Pina:

Ah, thank you. 1 hour waiting for skis seems like the normal disaster that is GVA in winter 😉. 

 Tom the tall 21 Mar 2022
In reply to barbeg:

On Crystal skiing home page to there is a link at the top of the page to current covid rules, click through and find France and it has all the official info, including for those arriving via Geneva.

 nickg_oxford 21 Mar 2022
In reply to Fiona Reid:

I was with Jet2 to Edinburgh, which flies from the cowshed that is GVA "terminal 2". For me, once I had carried all my clobber through to T2 (which hides meekly behind), it entailed a 45 min queue for checkin, similar for security, then a bus to Terminal 1, long walk through that, then another bus from T2 to the plane. I've never taken 2 buses to board a plane before.

In order to get the plane to take off within its time slot, they abandoned loading half the bags. My belongings are still enjoying a European break.

Some friends had a similar experience the week before, and although consensus seems to be short-staffing at Geneva, all the check-in desks and security lanes were open, so I am not sure how they could have processed us quicker. 

To be fair, its not really Jet2's fault, but the Geneva operations.

 bob-e 21 Mar 2022
In reply to Fiona Reid:

No, it's not just Geneva. Chaos at Grenoble also. Flew in a week past Saturday and had to queue outside the terminal building for best part of an hour before making it indoors and through passport control, fortunately it was dry and warm. None of our extra paperwork/covid passports were checked although we had a friend who's was, so its clearly very random. Nothing was checked at any point during the holiday in ski rental shops, gondola's, pubs or restaurants. Even worse chaos trying to get back through airport on way home....made it onto plane with about 5 minutes to spare. The same big queue was again visible for arrivals also, so clearly not an isolated incident. Almost putting us off going back next year.

 yorkshireman 22 Mar 2022
In reply to bob-e:

> No, it's not just Geneva. Chaos at Grenoble also. 

Grenoble is always chaos because on a Saturday it's just ski flights and the airport is far too small to handle them.

It's my nearest airport and I made the mistake of flying to the UK once on a Saturday in February. Now I don't even consider it (not very good choices of flights anyway) and would rather drive the extra 30 minutes to Lyon. 

 Richard Horn 22 Mar 2022
In reply to nickg_oxford:

I wonder how long ski tourists will be forced to endure the special Geneva ski terminal? It was 2015 when I last went through it and it was close to being the worst journey of my life and I swore never again. The bus had to queue to get into the carpark, then wait in the car park before being allowed in to check in, then another queue around the car park for security. Tbh arrival at Gatwick wasnt much better, hit the back of the passport queue in the corridor about 100m before the main border hall...

Probably superseded though by Storm Ciara return in Feb 2020. 7 hours in Chambery secure-side (with 4 plane loads / ~600 people, probably an early Covid mega-spreader event) before flight abandoned until the next day...

Just got back from Andorra from a week of skiing. Flew Jet2, masks not required on the plane which I was a bit surprised about. Covid passes were checked at Gatwick on the way out but nowhere else. Masks required in Toulouse airport when we arrived, but not on the way home so maybe the rules in France changed last week. In resort, almost no mask use on the slopes or lifts, in theory required for the gondolas but no-one was checking / insisting. One crowded mountain restaurant had a gendarme checking masks on the way in but that was the only time I saw any sort of enforcement

 Carless 22 Mar 2022
In reply to yorkshireman:

There's also Chambery airport though I've never used it

I was evidently lucky at GVA in Feb. Strolled off flight, 5 min wait for bags and an extra 5 mins for the skis

 Martin W 22 Mar 2022
In reply to Carless:

> There's also Chambery airport though I've never used it

Chambery is closer to the major French resorts than Geneva.  However, it's in a valley that often gets fogged up, especially in winter, which means that using for ski flights is a bit of a lottery.  When I was repatriated from Sauze d'Oulx via Geneva in January this year (having had to isolate with Covid on the last day of my holiday) the only poor weather we experienced on the drive from the Val di Susa to GVA was fog on the autoroute as we passed Chambery.

I once ended up being bussed to Lyon because the inbound flight got diverted there after it couldn't land at Chambery (and it wasn't the only one: the whole airport was in chaos).  Lyon airport didn't seem to be expecting a plane full of fed up Brit skiers at 10pm on a Saturday wanting to get home.  Check-in and security were operating on a skeleton staff so took ages, then once airside there was approximately zero information as to which gate our flight might depart from, or when.  IIRC a single Crystal rep did eventually materialise and lead us Pied Piper-like through the terminal, and deposited us in a generic gate waiting area.  After that we were basically left to fend for ourselves.  No-one dared move far; even a trip to the loo was best carried out with a pal on watch who could come and hurry you up if something suddenly started to happen.  Eventually someone did appear and told us that our flight was boarding, after which it actually all went reasonably smoothly - albeit 12 hours later than it should have done.

I think we eventually landed back in Edinburgh sometime after 1am UK time, having gained an hour on the way due to the change of time zones.

That was my worst Chambery airport experience.  But I don't think my flight ever left less than an hour late any of the other times I've flown through there.


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