 Poster: A snowHead
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We have pretty much resigned to not going now. Was due to drive on Boxing Day and stay in self catering. My wife starts a new job on 4th Jan and can’t run the risk of getting stuck in France. We have been offered half our money back if we cancel. It is what it is but still blowing £900.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks for that. Nothing too drastic announced so far, with major change being closure of nightclubs for 4 weeks. No other restrictions which might affect ski trips.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nightclubs closed for four weeks from Friday!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Nightclubs closed for four weeks from Friday!
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Bit of a blow for the uni trips but probably wise
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Riots start Saturday?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| GreenDay wrote: |
……………………………………………While I understand that we should be vigilant, I think that paranoia over new variants is unnecessary and counterproductive - certainly until we know the full facts.
The paragraph that has the most relevance in the Reuters article is the one which states
"Health authorities said the individuals infected were so far displaying mild symptoms, with none hospitalised" |
Agreed.
And if infected persons truly only have mild symptoms, surely it would be helpful if the infection quickly passed through the whole population in just a few weeks and so everyone gained immunity from this variant by the end of the year!
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Pulled the plug on our new years ski plans to our place in PDS.
Added cost, hassle and risks just mean it is not worth risking.
$%#@£=& gutted.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@rjj501, thankfully I hope no-one is going to think ski lifts are a nightclub.
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| rainman wrote: |
| @JamesHJ, it's a real concern - my son is on a Uni trip in VT at the moment. 3000 students. One imagines that the likelihood of the full 3000 being free of COVID - asymptomatic or otherwise - when tested at the end of this week is extremely low. I wonder how they'll handle it. |
Not suggesting that your son was one of them, but having been on the lift over La Folie Douce earlier there clearly wasn't much concern about Covid.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I don't think the Norwegians will be holding the record for biggest super spreader for long. 
But on a more serious note, will the uni trips from the UK give the rest of europe a neat excuse to parcel up all the blame and hang it on us?
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Mon 6-12-21 22:41; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I think someone raised this before but the issue wasn't resolved - the 48 hour limit on pre-departure tests in the UK to France direction seems too tight to be workable for afternoon / evening flights. 
Here's my thinking:
1. It basically needs to be a PCR test since airlines are apparently sometimes refusing LFTs.
2. The fastest PCR test results are generally only guaranteed to be delivered by midnight at the end of the day after you take the test.
For example, if I was to fly to France on Saturday evening, I would need to take the test on Thursday in order to guarantee a result by the end of Friday. But taking a test on Thursday would be more than 48 hours before arriving in France, unless I could find somewhere open for testing very late in the evening.
Flying into Geneva and driving into France compounds the problem, as you wouldn't cross the border until even later in the evening.
Can someone suggest a solution, or point out where I'm going wrong?
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@denfinella, it doesn't need to be a PCR. Either LFT or PCR are acceptable. That is a fact, but I think it does need to detect the N protein on the virus. Who is refusing an approved LFT with a certificate? Are you perhaps overthinking this?
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You know it makes sense.
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@Hells Bells, perhaps, yes.
The example of airlines refusing LFTs is easyJet - it was reported on these forums but their Facebook page also has several people complaining about it.
I am travelling to France via Geneva airport so I'll need a PCR test for the Swiss part anyway. However, the timing issues relate to the French (48hr) requirement.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| denfinella wrote: |
| However, the timing issues relate to the French (48hr) requirement. |
Is the French requirement for a PCR within 48 hours? Or is that time limit only for lateral flow tests?
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Poster: A snowHead
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| denfinella wrote: |
| However, the timing issues relate to the French (48hr) requirement. |
Is the French requirement for a PCR within 48 hours? Or is that time limit only for lateral flow tests? |
Either are 48hr, which is annoying… as it means cutting it finer than I’d like for the Swiss one to make it valid for France too…
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@thecramps,
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I don't think the Norwegians will be holding the record for biggest super spreader for long.
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I don't know, maybe they will hang on to the record for a bit longer, there are reports in the media of a Norwegian cruise ship (with over 3000 passengers) that has been hit with an outbreak of Covid cases "quell surprise"
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| rjj501 wrote: |
| rob@rar wrote: |
| denfinella wrote: |
| However, the timing issues relate to the French (48hr) requirement. |
Is the French requirement for a PCR within 48 hours? Or is that time limit only for lateral flow tests? |
Either are 48hr, which is annoying… as it means cutting it finer than I’d like for the Swiss one to make it valid for France too… |
Swiss one is PCR 72hrs before. In the unlikely event you’re stopped at the French border (nobody is, apparently) take a LF test the day before you go.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Gadge, thankfully his hangover kept him out of the FD and on the slopes! But no, I can’t imagine distancing is foremost in their thoughts.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Bergmeister wrote: |
| denfinella wrote: |
@Hells Bells, perhaps, yes.
The example of airlines refusing LFTs is easyJet - it was reported on these forums but their Facebook page also has several people complaining about it. |
That is shocking news. We've arranged LFTs tomorrow morning (at a walk in clinic) before our Easyjet flight to France on Wednesday. 
The French Consulate website (Ambafrance) actually states the following:-
From 4 December, fully vaccinated travellers (12 years old or more), and whatever their nationality, have to provide the result of a negative PCR or antigen test (in paper or digital format) carried out less than 48h hours prior to departure. Self-administred tests, whose results are not certified by a laboratory (e.g.: tests provided free of charge by the NHS) are not considered valid for travel.
I wonder if we can upgrade to a PCR, just to be on the safe side - even though it looks like it may not be required...
What next? 
Have any of you travelled to France with Easyjet, since the weekend, using a LFT? |
From what I saw on a quick trip Spain, several passengers thought they could just use the NHS LFT and were refused on Ryanair.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| rjj501 wrote: |
| rob@rar wrote: |
| denfinella wrote: |
| However, the timing issues relate to the French (48hr) requirement. |
Is the French requirement for a PCR within 48 hours? Or is that time limit only for lateral flow tests? |
Either are 48hr, which is annoying… as it means cutting it finer than I’d like for the Swiss one to make it valid for France too… |
Swiss one is PCR 72hrs before. In the unlikely event you’re stopped at the French border (nobody is, apparently) take a LF test the day before you go. |
It looked like anyone on our flight to Paris on Saturday morning who didn't have an LFT was denied boarding.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| Swiss one is PCR 72hrs before. In the unlikely event you’re stopped at the French border (nobody is, apparently) take a LF test the day before you go. |
If that unlikely event happens, all I'd need to do is travel back in time and take the test the day before 
I think I was partly worried that easyJet would somehow be policing the French requirement at the departure gate in UK. But I guess they'd really only be interested in the UK / Swiss rules at that point.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Bergmeister,
I understand your concerns.
I am flying with EasyJet to France on Friday (I hope). I am flying directly to France from the UK, not transiting through Geneva. Having looked at EasyJet's Facebook page I can find examples of people being refused boarding with lateral flow tests: I haven't spent long on this but the three issues seemed to be LFTs that needed to be taken a maximum of 48 hours before entry to a country that would have 'expired' during the flight, people presenting a LFT where a PCR test was needed, and people presenting a non-private/NHS test with no certificate (don't get me started!).
If you turn up with not test at all then don"t be surprised if an airline refuses to fly you.
I am going to assume that, based on the guidance you quote, if I present a certificated, negative result for an antigen/LFT test (detecting the N protein) carried out less than 48 hours before departure (it will be more like 24 hours) I am going to be allowed to board the plane. If I am refused boarding on the basis of the time or type of test I have taken then there is nothing further I can do - there are no more hoops I can see to jump through. But I am quietly confident that it will be OK.
If others have recent experience to the contrary, it would be good to hear.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 7-12-21 1:12; edited 2 times in total
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so if you are driving and you take a lft in france 1 hr before crossing....then cross, then take a pcr pretty soon after hitting uk soil you are taking 2 tests within 4 hrs or so....wtf is the point of that ? can you take a pcr in france and use the same test to qualify for the "within 2 days" test ?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Are the complaints not because on Sat',easyJet were implementing new Swiss PCR requirement (introduced Fri pm?) and turning people flying to GVA away, who only had LFT for transit to France?
Quite a few sH's going to the PSB got caught up in it and some were offered flights direct to French airports instead.
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| backhojo wrote: |
| so if you are driving and you take a lft in france 1 hr before crossing....then cross, then take a pcr pretty soon after hitting uk soil you are taking 2 tests within 4 hrs or so....wtf is the point of that ? can you take a pcr in france and use the same test to qualify for the "within 2 days" test ? |
No. The French test wouldn't give you a booking reference for the UK Passenger Locator Form so you'd be refused boarding at Calais.
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You know it makes sense.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| rjj501 wrote: |
| rob@rar wrote: |
| denfinella wrote: |
| However, the timing issues relate to the French (48hr) requirement. |
Is the French requirement for a PCR within 48 hours? Or is that time limit only for lateral flow tests? |
Either are 48hr, which is annoying… as it means cutting it finer than I’d like for the Swiss one to make it valid for France too… |
Swiss one is PCR 72hrs before. In the unlikely event you’re stopped at the French border (nobody is, apparently) take a LF test the day before you go. |
Yeah, I’m debating what to do with this. Do a PCR test as far in advance as reasonable for Swiss entry (so I know I have the Cert back in time) then LFT for France (or don’t bother - I have a 73 number plate, so douane would prob assume exempt as a cross border commuter even if they were stopping people) or just go PCR 40 hrs ish ahead of flight to tick the box for both but run the risk of Cert not coming back in time. Decisions decisions.
Most irritating as the Swiss rules exempt me from PCR as a border region resident, so I should only need an LFT for France entry (or not if I’m feeling lucky), but we all know easyJet won’t accept that. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| paddyDT wrote: |
Pulled the plug on our new years ski plans to our place in PDS.
Added cost, hassle and risks just mean it is not worth risking.
$%#@£=& gutted. |
Just about to do the same. Driving and going to our own place in GM but the 2 x 15yr olds start their GCSE mocks less than one week after school starts back, so the risk was too high. How I wish the mocks weren't till February
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 7-12-21 10:08; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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A lot of folks are getting their pants in a tangle over the timing of the French Tests on entry via Geneva.
I've been back and forth over the border daily for the last few days, and have not even encountered one member of border staff (douanes) let alone been asked for proof of a test.
Mrs was refused boarding EZ Jet even with a neg test less < 24h, but that was the airline NOT the border staff.
Like @rjj501, says it's the airline you have to appease more than anything.
The local number plates thing is really only of any value if you cross a manned border such as Bardonnex.
Even St Gingolph which is Swiss staffed they didn't give a monkeys, and are mainly concerned with people smuggling in a cote de boeuf and some Chateauneuf du Pape.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| terrygasson wrote: |
@thecramps,
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I don't think the Norwegians will be holding the record for biggest super spreader for long.
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I don't know, maybe they will hang on to the record for a bit longer, there are reports in the media of a Norwegian cruise ship (with over 3000 passengers) that has been hit with an outbreak of Covid cases "quell surprise" |
3000 passengers vs 3000 varcity students. Might be demanding a recount, it'll be a close thing.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| 7ncj wrote: |
| X5OT76 wrote: |
| stodge wrote: |
| Even though I believe the risk to be small enough to not stop me cancelling, what are the implications of a positive test? There will be 4 of us in a rented apartment in Meribel. If one of us tests positive 2 days before departure, can any of us travel? The apartment is only available for a week - where do we quarantine after that - and how do we get there (our taxi to Lyon may not why to transport us)? |
This is our main concern as well (heading to Les Arcs on 19/12 for 12 days). 2 adults, 2 children. If one of us tests positive it is impossible to isolate in our apartment. I have read somewhere that if the person who tests positive cannot isolate, the whole group must isolate for an extended period. I think I have seen 17 days quoted somewhere but this may be incorrect (I hope!!) |
French requirements are to isolate for 10 days, plus another 48 hours if you still have a temperature at 10 days. Unlike some other countries who can assist with quarantine accomodation France just states that travellers must plan to make their own arrangements in those circumstances.
I agree it's relatively low risk but folk should go into this with their eyes wide open to risk of overseas travel at the moment.
I still plan (hope) to go, are driving to provide additional flexibility and fully understand what I'm covered for and what I'm not by my travel insurance. We've also chosen a resort without large cable cars or funiculars as the main lifts, to reduce the risk.
10 days in a Première Classe hotel whilst on unpaid leave from work would be horrible, but doable if it came to it. Might even cure my ski addiction in the longer term! |
So I have now read this today on another thread as well, that unvaccinated people (our daughter is 14 with one vax , therefore considered unvaccinated) must isolate for 17 days (NOT 10) if she is a close contact of another member of our family and unable to isolate separately.
Can anyone confirm this, factually?
From France Quarantine thread;
‘Note also that any unvaccinated people in the party need to stay for 17 days in France if they cannot separate themselves from the index case. ‘
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@WindOfChange, thanks for the report on the border crossing in to GVA. Please keep us updated on this.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| WindOfChange wrote: |
A lot of folks are getting their pants in a tangle over the timing of the French Tests on entry via Geneva.
I've been back and forth over the border daily for the last few days, and have not even encountered one member of border staff (douanes) let alone been asked for proof of a test.
Mrs was refused boarding EZ Jet even with a neg test less < 24h, but that was the airline NOT the border staff.
Like @rjj501, says it's the airline you have to appease more than anything.
The local number plates thing is really only of any value if you cross a manned border such as Bardonnex.
Even St Gingolph which is Swiss staffed they didn't give a monkeys, and are mainly concerned with people smuggling in a cote de boeuf and some Chateauneuf du Pape. |
Had the same info from a mate who runs a transfer company - nobody being stopped either way, and she had a busload of punters, who if there was to be checks you’d think they’d be front of the queue.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| andy from embsay wrote: |
| WindOfChange wrote: |
A lot of folks are getting their pants in a tangle over the timing of the French Tests on entry via Geneva.
I've been back and forth over the border daily for the last few days, and have not even encountered one member of border staff (douanes) let alone been asked for proof of a test.
Mrs was refused boarding EZ Jet even with a neg test less < 24h, but that was the airline NOT the border staff.
Like @rjj501, says it's the airline you have to appease more than anything.
The local number plates thing is really only of any value if you cross a manned border such as Bardonnex.
Even St Gingolph which is Swiss staffed they didn't give a monkeys, and are mainly concerned with people smuggling in a cote de boeuf and some Chateauneuf du Pape. |
Had the same info from a mate who runs a transfer company - nobody being stopped either way, and she had a busload of punters, who if there was to be checks you’d think they’d be front of the queue. |
I appreciate it is anecdote, but the French customs seem supremely uninterested* in British travellers at the moment. I've been expecting B-word problems related to residency, but have just been re-entering FR through the EU gates. They just glance at my passport in apparent disgust, and cut me off if I start explaining about my lack of carte de sejour etc.
*The French- bless them- do this better than any other nationality 
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@JamesHJ, I've had my (French) carte de sejour checked both last times by the CH flying into Geneva. Maybe I have a dodgy air about me.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| X5OT76 wrote: |
| 7ncj wrote: |
| X5OT76 wrote: |
| stodge wrote: |
| Even though I believe the risk to be small enough to not stop me cancelling, what are the implications of a positive test? There will be 4 of us in a rented apartment in Meribel. If one of us tests positive 2 days before departure, can any of us travel? The apartment is only available for a week - where do we quarantine after that - and how do we get there (our taxi to Lyon may not why to transport us)? |
This is our main concern as well (heading to Les Arcs on 19/12 for 12 days). 2 adults, 2 children. If one of us tests positive it is impossible to isolate in our apartment. I have read somewhere that if the person who tests positive cannot isolate, the whole group must isolate for an extended period. I think I have seen 17 days quoted somewhere but this may be incorrect (I hope!!) |
French requirements are to isolate for 10 days, plus another 48 hours if you still have a temperature at 10 days. Unlike some other countries who can assist with quarantine accomodation France just states that travellers must plan to make their own arrangements in those circumstances.
I agree it's relatively low risk but folk should go into this with their eyes wide open to risk of overseas travel at the moment.
I still plan (hope) to go, are driving to provide additional flexibility and fully understand what I'm covered for and what I'm not by my travel insurance. We've also chosen a resort without large cable cars or funiculars as the main lifts, to reduce the risk.
10 days in a Première Classe hotel whilst on unpaid leave from work would be horrible, but doable if it came to it. Might even cure my ski addiction in the longer term! |
So I have now read this today on another thread as well, that unvaccinated people (our daughter is 14 with one vax , therefore considered unvaccinated) must isolate for 17 days (NOT 10) if she is a close contact of another member of our family and unable to isolate separately.
Can anyone confirm this, factually?
From France Quarantine thread;
‘Note also that any unvaccinated people in the party need to stay for 17 days in France if they cannot separate themselves from the index case. ‘ |
https://www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus/isolement
Google translated for ease/speed:
"Isolation must become the center of our strategy against the virus. In order not to infect each other, it is essential to isolate ourselves as soon as it is necessary. At the slightest doubt and from the first symptoms, I isolate myself and take a test:
if my test is positive, I remain isolated for 10 days and I alert my contacts;
if I have been in contact with a positive person, I get tested and I isolate myself immediately for 7 days, even if my test is negative; however, people with a complete vaccination schedule who are not immunocompromised are not subject to this isolation requirement. However, the latter must comply with certain health rules to break the chains of transmission of Covid-19.
if I am in contact with a member of the same household, the duration of isolation is increased to 17 days. The isolation can be lifted on the 17th day, in the event of a negative test carried out 7 days after recovery of the positive person within the home (which lasts 10 days)."
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| lazyskier wrote: |
| surely we cannot stay in the holiday apartment? |
You might. Our rental agency handles the majority of the apartments available for rent in our block and the adjacent one. All the apartments have a similar layout and spec' so it doesn't make a lot of difference to the client which one they're allocated when they arrive. We've occasionally got someone asking specifically for our place, based on the photo's or they are returning after a summer stay, but in the main, the clients are being sold a generic spec'. If it's booked for a TO then the client only sees the spec' and an example photo of one apartment and is allocated on arrival. As long as you were paying the standard rate, the owner won't care, and it's an extra week's commission for the agency - so the people who were next might simply be put elsewhere, probably without even knowing. And if the apartment doesn't get a clean because of Covid caution, then the agency can pocket the inbuilt cleaning charge as well - the owner will never know.
However, you'd have to organise for provisions to be provided, as you couldn't leave the apartment. So I think that this is a good question to ask your TO or rental agency i.e. 'What arrangements do you provide for clients who are compulsorily quarantined?'
The answer I'd hope to get is 'If logistically possible, we'll try and leave you in the same apartment and charge you the published commercial rate. If that's not possible, we'll try and find you an alternative, again at the current rate. Our in-resort staff would undertake a grocery shop for you at a charge of ~ per shop, once every 5 days. You can also use one of the various cafés that do ready-meal deliveries - we'll provide a list.' or similar.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Tue 7-12-21 11:29; edited 1 time in total
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FAQ
Definately worth bringing a laptop so we can WFH.
