Flight personnel won't need a rapid test after all

Pilots and cabin crew do not have to take a rapid test four hours before departure to the Netherlands. Airlines had said they would be in trouble because of the measure. The OMT, therefore, issued advice for an alternative protocol for aviation personnel, and the cabinet has now adopted that advice.

As of Sunday, anyone traveling by plane to the Netherlands must be able to submit a negative PCR test that is no more than 72 hours old. In addition, passengers must also take a rapid test. This must be less than four hours before departure. If it is positive, that person is not allowed to go on the flight.

The compulsory rapid test would also apply to airline personnel, but KLM, among others, did not think this was manageable because there was a risk that crew members would have to stay behind abroad. KLM did not consider this to be evidence of "good employment practices" and feared staffing problems. It would mean the end of intercontinental flights to Schiphol.

Instead of a quick test, staff are now subject to stricter rules, write Ministers Hugo De Jonge of Public Health and Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure in a letter to the Lower House. Staff are strictly quarantined during their stay abroad in order not to come into contact with the local population. They should stay in their hotel room as much as possible.

Crew members who have corona-related symptoms are allowed to return but must be isolated during the flight.