The Council of Ministers approved the amended Action Plan for the gradual resumption of flights and the reopening of airports.
The Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Mr. Giannis Karousos, after the end of today's meeting of the Council of Ministers, made the following statement:
The Interministerial Committee established by a Decision of the Council of Ministers on 17 May 2020, chaired and attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, met on 3 November 2020, in the presence of the Minister of Interior, consider improving the existing Action Plan for the phased resumption of flights and the reopening of airports.
The amended draft, which was prepared by the Interministerial Committee and approved today by the Council of Ministers, provides, inter alia, for the following:
(1) For the categorization of countries, the Ministry of Health will be based on the weekly report / evaluation of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). For countries where there is no evaluation by the ECDC, this evaluation will be done by the Ministry of Health.
(2) The replacement of the Classification Classifications of the states so that they are identical with the categorization carried out by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The State Classification Categories are amended as follows:
i. THE Category A is replaced by the Green Category, in which there will be no restrictions, a practice that still applies today.
ii. THE Category B is replaced by the Orange Category, which will require the submission of a negative PCR laboratory analysis within 72 hours before departure, a practice that is still valid today.
iii. THE Category C is replaced by the Red Category, which will require double laboratory analysis, ie negative laboratory PCR analysis within 72 hours before departure and another PCR laboratory analysis upon arrival in Cyprus. No self-restraint / quarantine measures apply in this category.
iv. Special License Category (Gray) in which passengers must submit a PCR laboratory analysis within 72 hours before departure. In this category will apply self-restraint / quarantine measures which will be in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health.
(3) The following countries will be classified in the Green, Orange and Red categories:
i. European Union countries
ii. European Economic Area countries including the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
iii. Countries on the European Council's list of third countries
iv. Third countries (Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Belarus)
(4) Those countries not listed above will be classified in the category Gray - special license. The procedure for granting a special permit to enter the Republic for third country nationals will be followed in this category (Cypriot citizens, those legally residing in the Republic of Cyprus and European citizens are excluded from the grant of a special permit).
(5) The following passengers will have the option to carry out a laboratory test upon arrival in the Republic of Cyprus:
- Cypriot citizens and members of their families (including their foreign spouses and their minor children).
- The legal persons residing in the Republic.
- Persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention.
In this case, the beneficiaries of laboratory testing upon arrival of passengers of the Red Class and the Special License Category, will remain, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health, in a mandatory self-restraint regime unless they provide laboratory analysis with negative PCR within 72 hours. before departure.
(6) The Ministry of Health will continue the sampling checks on passengers arriving in Cyprus, guided by the epidemiological criteria of the countries from where flights to the Republic of Cyprus will be carried out.
(7) The amended Action Plan also provides for people who will be vaccinated as they will be excluded from performing laboratory tests.
(8) The amended Action Plan will enter into force on 1η March 2021.
(9) Until the Action Plan enters into force, there will be a transitional phase with a start date of 15η January 2021 in which all the following countries will be able to be classified in one of the 4 categories, namely Green, Orange, Red or Gray - Special License.
a. European Union countries
b. European Economic Area countries including the United Kingdom and Switzerland
c. Countries on the European Council's list of third countries
d. Third countries (Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Belarus)
(10) During the transition phase, the evaluation of all countries will be carried out by the Ministry of Health in the manner followed today.
Simultaneously with the amendment of the Action Plan, the Council of Ministers approved the extension for another 6 months of the temporary Incentive Plan to the airlines. This is a Plan that has received positive reviews from airlines and has been described at European Union level as a Best Practice Plan. In this Plan will be paid, as an incentive to the airlines, an amount per passenger that will result from the fullness of the aircraft from 41% -70%.
The amended Action Plan prepared and approved by the Council of Ministers takes into account the existing epidemiological conditions and is expected to further enhance the airlines' interest in conducting additional flights to Cyprus, improve connectivity and increase passenger traffic. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Transport, Communications and Works and the Deputy Minister of Tourism will send a joint letter to all aviation and tourism bodies to inform them about the changes in the amended Action Plan ".