[ad_1]
The new restrictions on travelers from crisis areas are not just a concern for the German aviation industry. Also in Turkey, people are unhappy with German regulation. Because that also affects business travelers.
By Oliver Mayer-Rüth, ARD-Studio Istanbul
Anyone who wanted to travel from Turkey to Germany in recent weeks had to get tested for Covid-19-PCR within 48 hours before departure. He was only allowed to enter the machine with a negative test result. Depending on the regulation of the respective federal state you were flying to, you had to inform the public order or health department at the destination after arrival.
In the best case, an official confirmed the exemption from the 14-day quarantine due to the negative test result. A bilateral arrangement between Berlin and Ankara, which led to a return to normality between Turkey and Germany, which was classified as a risk zone, in August.
A major setback for the aviation and tourism industries
The measure now adopted by the federal and state governments, that as of October 1, all those who enter from risk areas must be quarantined and will only be able to perform a quarantine-free test from the fifth day, is a benefit for the German economy, the aviation industry and the tourism sector. severe setback.
Thilo Pahl, CEO of the Istanbul Chamber of Foreign Commerce, breathed a sigh of relief when Berlin and Ankara agreed on regulations for a negative Covid 19 test result as a prerequisite for the flight from Turkey to Germany in July.
According to Pahl, they were “on the starting line” after the lockdown. The general quarantine now decided after entry from a risk zone means “almost the end” of business trips. The foreign trade expert warns that this is “a huge problem worldwide” and hinders “a sustainable economic recovery.”
“The above tests create security”
Deniz Ugur, CEO of the Bentour travel company, just shakes his head at the new regulation. After TUI, Bentour is the largest provider of tour packages to Turkey. Now a very good regulation is being repealed, Ugur said. Many Germans would have felt comfortable due to the Covid-19 tests before going home, because they would have known that they would return healthy with a negative result.
In Antalya, the doctors at the hotel or the airport offered the tests. The test in Turkey created security, Ugur said. The new regulation reduces security because many returnees in quarantine “do not sit in the basement,” said the tourism expert. People would now take the train home from the airport without getting tested and then go to the supermarket to buy supplies despite the quarantine.
This is a serious blow to the aviation and travel industry. Lufthansa already had considerable taxpayer money to save itself, so Ugur. Politicians provoked the next crisis through general quarantine for certain industries.
Financial consequences warning
Mathias von Randow, Director General of the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry, warns of a renewed lockdown on travel activities. “More than 80 percent of Germany’s air traffic” remained blocked with regulation as of October. The industry saw the method agreed between Berlin and Ankara as an opportunity to make transatlantic air traffic possible again.
“We have pointed out that testing for Covid-19 before departure to Germany can be an effective means of minimizing the risk of importation and thus circumventing the quarantine obligation after arrival in Germany,” said a spokeswoman for the association. tagesschau.de.
Astonishment from the Turkish side
In Ankara, people are in awe of the decision of the federal and state governments to make the previous agreement obsolete. Mustafa Erkan, a former member of the Lower Saxony state parliament and an advisor to Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, criticized: “As of October 1, a well-established system will be unraveled, which has also relieved testing laboratories. Germans. “
He recommends that Berlin not abolish the principle, but use it “as a model for appointments with other states.” According to Erkan, more than 200,000 PCR tests have been performed in Turkey for people returning to Germany in recent weeks. The few who tested positive were treated on the spot and were able to leave the country after recovering.
In the end, the federal states decide
What will finally apply from October is apparently not entirely certain, because each federal state can decide for itself how to deal with people entering from risk areas. When asked, the Bavarian Ministry of Health explains:
“At the moment, it cannot be foreseen if there will be a quarantine for travelers from risk areas in Bavaria on October 1 and to what extent. The state government will take measures based on the appearance of the respective infection in consideration of others interests involved. “
