Coronavirus: practical advice for safe travel

After months of lockdown, travel and tourism have slowly restarted. Discover what the EU recommends to ensure safe journeys.

Young couple taking a selfie photo on summer vacation ©DisobeyArt/Adobe Stock
©DisobeyArt/Adobe Stock

While people need to take precautions and follow health and safety instructions from national authorities, the European Commission has come up with guidelines and recommendations to help you to travel safely:

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency recommends the following when flying:

  • Don’t travel if you have symptoms like cough, fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell
  • Complete your statement of health before checking in and check in online if possible
  • Ensure you have enough face masks for the journey (they should usually be changed every four hours)
  • Leave enough time for extra checks and procedures at the airport;have all documents ready
  • Wear a medical face mask, practice hand hygiene and physical distancing
  • Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow
  • Limit your movement in the plane

Parliament has been insisting since March 2020 on a strong and coordinated EU action to overcome the crisis in the tourism sector, when it called for a new European strategy to make tourism cleaner, safer and more sustainable as well as for help to get the sector back on its feet after the pandemic

Find out more on what the EU is doing to fight the coronavirus