 |
| Plane over the clouds (archive) |
Rama stated this Thursday, in the meeting with the Council of Experts that: “Until May 18, it will remain the same, then the process of opening and flows will come to enter Albania from the air or land, there will be another challenge to respect the rules of home quarantine for those who will enter Albania”.
These opening measures, which seem to be a faint sign of the resumption of travel, were accompanied by the announcement that the process of obtaining new passports and identity cards will resume next week. But despite these signals from now and on will not be easy to travel.
In addition to the costs of airlines being much higher, the provision of a medical passport, or the obligation to perform tests (over 200 euros) when landing at a foreign airport, the difficulty lies in the fact that it is not known when the other countries will liberalize the movement.
According to the latest report from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), all countries in the world are implementing travel restrictions. "This is the biggest restriction on international travel ever observed in history and to this day. No country has lifted restrictions imposed in response to the crisis,” UNWTO said.
At the moment, it is impossible to go on vacation, by train or by car to a border country or by plane thousands of miles away. According to the report dated on April 29, 2020, out of 217 destinations in the world, 45% have completely or partially closed their borders to tourists. 30% have suspended, in whole or in part, international flights, 18% prohibit entry for travelers from specific countries or for those who have been in transit to specific destinations while 7% either enforce visa-related measures or implement various measures such as are quarantine or isolation measures for 14 days.
Countries that have closed borders
In Europe
Poland: After closing its borders to foreigners, Poland canceled domestic flights on Monday until further notice.
Germany: The country has also announced the virtual closure of its borders with Schengen countries with France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark. Only cross-border workers and goods will be able to be transported.
Austria: has implemented a virtual closure of its border with Italy by enforcing strict controls in the south of the country at intersections used by drivers who now have to present a medical certificate.
Malta: Maltese authorities have announced the suspension of all flights with France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain from midnight on March 11. Citizens of these countries who would arrive in Malta through other air routes from this date must be subject to a 14-day check, otherwise, they will be fined 1000 euros.
Spain: On March 16, the Spanish government announced the closure of its borders by land.
Czech Republic: Czech authorities banned travelers from "danger zones" from entering their territory for 30 days.
Slovakia: Slovak authorities have decided to close their borders to all foreigners.
Poland: Faced with the coronavirus epidemic, Poland has decided to close its borders.
Norway: Foreigners without a residence permit in Norway are no longer accepted in Norwegian territory.
Denmark: Danish authorities have closed borders to all foreigners who are not residents or do not work in Denmark.
In America
United States: The United States has banned all travelers from Europe since Friday, March 13, except the United Kingdom. Donald Trump also announced the temporary closure of the border between the United States and Canada for all "non-essential" trips. The Embassy in Albania has also stopped the visa-issuance process
Canada, has closed its borders to all foreigners.
In Asia
China: China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on March 26 that it would temporarily suspend the entry of foreign nationals with Chinese visas or residence permits that are still valid. All visa policies are affected by this temporary entry suspension, such as the free transit visa up to 72h / 144h applicable in certain regions, such as Beijing or Shanghai, as well as the exclusion of the 30-day visa for travelers wishing to visit Hainan Island. Only diplomatic visa holders will not be affected by this measure.
Thailand: the country has closed all its borders - land, sea and air - to foreigners.
Russia: The country announced the closure of all its borders on March 28. The measure went into effect on Sunday night, March 29 to Monday, March 30, at midnight local time. The border with Belarus, usually open and without customs control, has also been closed.