VACCINE CERT HOLIDAY HELL
Irish tourists told to quarantine in Malta after jab cards snub
UP to 25 Irish tourists who arrived in Malta yesterday have been told they must quarantine in a hotel after being informed their vaccine cards were not acceptable.
Government officials last night confirmed they were offering assistance to Irish holidaymakers after Maltese officials refused to let them into the country without a Digital Covid Certificate (DCC).
Under current Irish travel rules, holidaymakers can fly abroad once you have proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test.
However, Malta is imposing stricter rules on entry and requires that people are fully vaccinated and have proof of a DCC to avoid having to quarantine
in a designated hotel. The Maltese authorities insist that ‘anyone aged 12 and over can travel to Malta as long as they hold a certificate of full vaccination for a European Medicines Agency-approved Covid-19 vaccine, including EU Digital Covid Certificates, Maltese and NHS (UK) certificates.’
The travel guidance for Malta on the Department of Foreign Affairs website explicitly states that ‘handwritten vaccination certificates or vaccination cards will not be accepted’.
It is understood the Irish tourists affected had assumed they would be granted entry by presenting their HSE vaccine cards at immigration.
However, Maltese authorities informed them at the airport they are not considered valid proof on whether they are fully vaccinated.
The tourists, who had waited months to be allowed to holiday abroad as the travel restriction was lifted this week, are now
‘The DCC helpline is not fit for purpose’
required to spend the next two weeks in a quarantine facility at an expense of €100 per night – a total outlay of some €1,400 per person.
While the decision throws the sunseekers’ plans up in the air, Irish travel expert Eoghan Corry told the Irish Daily Mail that there is no obligation on any country to accept HSE vaccine certs.
‘Malta is one of the most stringent countries in the EU at the moment when it comes to travel,’ he said. ‘What’s happening is that people who don’t have their Covid Cert are being allowed onto flights with their piece of paper showing that they are fully vaccinated.
‘But what you’re doing is relying on the generosity of the country you’re going to in the hopes that they will let you pass on through.
‘There’s no obligation on them at all. You’re at the mercy of not just the country, but the person you meet at immigration.
‘It’s a limbo and twilight zone for people who haven’t received their Digital Covid Cert yet.’
Mr Corry is urging anyone who intends on travelling abroad this summer to check the particular country’s regulations to avoid having their holiday ruined.
However, he said receiving the latest guidelines is easier said than done. ‘The Irish Government’s website is hopelessly ambiguous,’ he said.
One passenger, who has a Covid Cert, but whose girlfriend does not, told thejournal.ie that her HSE card was not accepted when they landed in Malta yesterday.
This is despite her HSE certificate being checked before she boarded the flight in Dublin.
‘Robert’ said that his partner rang the DCC helpline last week to ensure she would have her EU cert in time for her trip. However, it did not arrive in time for her flight.
The woman was told that her vaccination cert was ‘not the required one’, with another 25 people on the flight believed to be in a similar position.
The couple were then told they’d have to go into mandatory quarantine for two weeks, but they could leave if she received her travel cert or if they booked a flight home.
The Department of Foreign Affairs last night told the Mail that it is aware of the situation and is liaising with the relevant authorities in Malta. ‘The Department stands ready to provide consular assistance to Irish citizens upon request. As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of any specific case,’ a spokesman said.
Earlier this week, junior minister Ossian Smyth, who is responsible for overseeing the rollout of travel certs and who is himself on holiday this week, reassured travellers they would not need a DCC to enter a country, as long as they can prove their vaccination status.
He tweeted: ‘It is important to remember that the DCC is not essential for travelling – you can still travel on your vaccine card or a negative PCR test.’
It comes as a second helpline number set up to clear the digital cert backlog was again overwhelmed with calls with thousands of frustrated passengers waiting hours to get through.
Travel expert Mr Corry said: ‘The DCC helpline just isn’t fit for purpose and might as well not exist.’’
Upon realising that their holiday was ruined, Robert called the DCC helpline on Monday morning and said that after two hours waiting, the couple were told that his girlfriend should have her DCC in ‘the next few days’.
The next return flight from Malta to Dublin is not until tomorrow.