When the new normal, becomes normal

In the fall of 2020, Europe saw the second wave of the pandemic, with increasing infection numbers across many countries. This meant that the Danish Authorities had to review the restrictions and rules regarding travel to and from Denmark, several times.

During the summer of 2020, air travel restrictions were lifted in many European countries, and slowly, passengers were returning to the skies. But come Fall, the second wave of Covid-19 hit hard throughout Europe. This caused many countries, including Denmark, to evaluate the agreed rules for travelling, and countries began to tighten the restrictions for entry and exit. On top of this, Europe is now faced with a new challenge, with the British and South African mutations of the virus. These have led to even more restrictive rules around air travel. As the situation has evolved, so has the setup in Copenhagen Airport, where we work closely with the Authorities to effectuate the restrictions as they are being implemented, as smoothly as we possibly can.

Tight deadlines in uncertain times calls for good cooperation

Many of the restrictions and rules have been implemented with very short deadlines, and teamwork between all stakeholders has been the key to successful implementation of the various solutions, we’ve had to put in place. In Copenhagen Airport we have worked very closely with the Danish Authorities to minimize the impact for Airlines and passengers. Some changes are bigger than others, but the constant change in the world of aviation in these uncertain times, requires a very agile approach from everyone involved. As an example, what one could imagine might be a small thing, was the change made by the health Authorities of the recommended social distance between passengers, from 1 meter to 2 meters. However, for the staff in Copenhagen Airport, this meant that more than 2,300 floor stickers, laid out to show and measure a 1m distance, had to be removed and replaced overnight, to reflect this new recommendation.

Restrictions currently in place for Denmark

On the 8th of February 2021, Denmark introduced requirements for mandatory Covid-19 testing and subsequent isolation for 10 days upon entry into Denmark, to limit the introduction and spread of more infectious mutations of the virus. This means that all passengers must be registered and have a quick test performed upon arrival at Copenhagen Airport.

The new rules are additional to the current requirements, introduced at the beginning of January 2021, that all passengers need to present a maximum 24 hour old, negative, Covid-19 test, before being allowed to board an aircraft bound for Denmark. If the passenger travels to Denmark on a continuous journey via transfer at one or more airports, the test can be taken up to 24 hours before boarding at the first airport.

Passengers, who previously have been infected with COVID-19, and therefore are unable to present a negative test result, must present a positive COVID-19 test result from a test performed between 14 days and eight weeks prior to the flight. These passengers are no longer perceived to be contagious.

Also the list of worthy purposes to enter Denmark have been updated, and we encourage airlines and passengers to keep update on latest news about rules related to air travel to Denmark, on coronasmitte.dk

At the time of writing, the rules are effective until 28th of February 2021.