MADEIRAN STOPS IN LONDON AND ENDS UP BEING RETAINED DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF A NEGATIVE TEST FOR COVID-19

I’m not sure why this woman was refused to enter as nothing is in place yet for a negative test result.

A Madeiran traveler who returned yesterday from Iceland, where she spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve, was held up in London, where she made a stopover, since she is not allowed to travel because she does not have a negative PCR test performed in the last 72 hours.

The woman, who chose not to identify herself, says she feels helpless and without solutions that allow her to travel to Madeira in the next few days, when she had already purchased a trip for today on a TAP flight towards Lisbon, and another with the connection between the continent and Madeira.

The Madeiran explains to JM that, looking for a solution so that she could return home quickly, she tried to perform the PCR test at the testing center installed at London Heathrow Airport. However, when trying to book online (the only way), she received the information that there is only availability for booking in three days, and it can only be done after having purchased a new airline ticket.

Since the test results take between 36 and 48 hours, the young woman will only be able to travel to Portugal in five or six days, a situation that she regrets, since in addition to involving a large extra expense that she will have to bear, it represents greater risk of contracting the virus.

The Madeiran claims that she tried to contact the Portuguese Embassy in the United Kingdom for help, without success, since they are not taking calls.

It is said without knowing what to do and without having anyone to help her in London, where she managed to enter on Tuesday night, with the provision that she would stay in the country for less than 24 hours, staying in a hotel at the airport without having any contact with anyone.

From Jornal Madeira