Finland to check COVID-19 certificates of incoming passengers

The City of Vantaa said that that when the European Union's temporary internal border control in the Schengen area ends, they will start checking the COVID-19 certificates of all passengers arriving in Finland from high-risk countries at Helsinki Airport from 26 July.

The checking may lead to occasional airport congestion, said Finavia in a press release, quoting the City of Vantaa.

The Finnish Border Guard provides administrative assistance and checks the certificates of non-Schengen passengers and directs the passengers to be tested for COVID-19 at the airport, if necessary.

The high-risk country limit is currently more than 10 new cases per 100,000 persons in the last two weeks.

Under the Communicable Diseases Act, the arriving passengers must present certificates upon arrival in the country. Passengers who do not have the necessary evidence of vaccinations, confirmation of having been infected with COVID-19 or a negative test result will be directed to be tested for COVID-19.

If the passenger does not have any COVID-19 vaccinations or a certificate of a negative COVID-19 test, they must go to the first test immediately upon arrival and to the second test 72–120 hours later.

If the passenger has received one COVID-19 vaccination at least two weeks before or has a certificate of a negative test, they should only take the second test.

Fully vaccinated passengers do not need to go to the test if at least two weeks have elapsed since their last vaccination.