Travel restrictions are constantly evolving, it’s difficult to keep up with all the changes, bans, and border closures. It’s easy to sit here and hear about travel challenges from the comfort of your front room, but when you’re standing at a check-in desk and being told you’re not legally allowed to fly, is unsettling, and not something I’d ever encountered before.
Travel Bans and Flight Restrictions
There’s a travel ban in the U.K., and Turkey has stopped inbound flights from the U.K. except for repatriation flights. The only way to get from the U.K. to Turkey is via another country and fly into an international airport and do 10 days in quarantine, before taking a domestic flight to Bodrum.
That’s too much hassle, so I decided to bide my time and wait until I could get a direct flight from the U.K. to Bodrum. It’s not a hardship to spend extra time in Norfolk with my Mum, so when the return portion of my ticket was cancelled, I settled in for the duration.
I thought the drama would end there, but with the new Covid strain riding rampant, Turkey halted direct flights coming from Britain, and my return flight to Turkey was cancelled. I decided to wait it out. The only other option was to take an indirect flight from another European country, and quarantine in Turkey for 10 days. Why put myself through that?
But circumstances changed, and I had to rush back to Bodrum to sort a few things out. I have Turkish residency, so I had a valid reason to fly and could get around the travel ban—I’m returning to my country of residence. The next step was to figure out how to get there.
I thought Lufthansa via Frankfurt would be the best option, but opted for Air France via Paris, because the Covid test timing worked better.
Timing the Covid Test
Timing the Covid test was the most stressful aspect of travelling. The test has to be taken within 72 hours of your arrival in Turkey. Luckily I still had my unused Covid kit I’d ordered for Test and Release when I arrived in the U.K., but I had to figure out the best time to mail the test to ensure I’d get the results in time, but that they were within the 72-hour window. This was actually the deciding factor for choosing my airline.
I made the decision on Wednesday to fly back to Turkey, and figured I could mail the test that night to catch the last post, and they’d receive it Thursday, and I’d get the results Friday. But I’d need to fly Friday so they’d still be valid.
Lufthansa had a daily flight to Istanbul via Frankfurt, but it left London at 9am, and there was no guarantee that I’d get my results in time. Air France had a flight to Istanbul via Paris at 5pm and arrived in Istanbul at 4am Saturday—so there was more chance of getting my results in time, and they’d still be valid in Turkey when I arrived. I opted for Paris, swabbed my nose and mouth, and mailed my Covid test off with next day delivery.
Wednesday night I didn’t sleep. Playing the Covid test options over and over in my head. Worst case scenario was I wouldn’t get my results in time to fly, and I’d have to change my flight, but then I’d have to have another Covid test because the test would be outside the 72-hour window. I could get a new Covid test at Heathrow which delivers results within 12-24 hours. But the next Air France flight to Paris wasn’t until Wednesday, so I’d have to switch to a Frankfurt flight on Sunday morning, and have an overnight at Heathrow on Friday and Saturday to wait for my results. My head was throbbing as I navigated through my options.
I could have kissed everyone who worked at the Axiom Labs when I got an email from them Thursday night with my results. Negative. Royal Mail from Norfolk to Devon, test done, and results sent to me, all within a 24-hour period.
Entry Forms
In order to enter France you have to fill in a form to justify why you’re travelling. I checked the “transit passenger less than 24-hours” box. I also had to fill in a passenger locator form for entry into Turkey.
All set to fly, now just needed to pack.
Travel Day: Friday
Up early to start the journey. Usually when you book flights or trains at the last minute, they nail your hat on. So I was pleasantly surprised when the Norwich to London train only cost me £20, usually it’d be three times as much. It’s a two hour train ride, and I’d booked a seat in the Quiet Coach—I needn’t have bothered.
The train was deserted and there were more carriages that passengers. No problem with social distancing.
I hopped in a cab in London to get to Paddington to catch the Heathrow Express (which by comparison was £22 for a fifteen minute journey). It’s been a while since I’ve been in a London Cab … those cabbies are an institution. Makes me want to boycott Uber just to keep them going. I had the quintessential cheeky chappie from south London, verbal diarrhea and an opinion on everything, but so entertaining. At Paddington, the Express was waiting to leave and no sooner had I stepped into the carriage, the train left.
Tucked away in Norfolk, it’s a bubble. You have no idea what’s going on in the outside world, except what’s shown on the news. So you have no idea what delays or challenges you’ll face during the day of travel.
But today, the travel gods were aligned. I had my Covid results in my pocket, and my day was going so well.
Famous Last Words…
