Post-Pandemic Blues
Itinerary to Paradise
Finding a flight routing from Germany to St. Lucia was more work than I had thought it would be. The only quick flights would get me to Martinique in 13 hours. But then I’d have to wait an additional 2 days for the final 50KM hop (either ferry or island-hopper). Everything else goes overnight through the U.K. or the USA/Canada. And many of those flights have gotten very expensive.
I opted to use some of my accrued frequent-flyer miles and am flying via a stopover in Toronto.
Travel Permits
First, I had to apply for and pay for a travel authorisation to transit Canada. The amount of information they required for me to submit my request for a transit, in my opinion, is far too detailed and invasive to determine whether I could land in Toronto and depart the following day. The permission came shortly after submitting the form. I then had to use another system to be allowed to enter Canada. This included COVID-19 vaccination information. But then they wanted an address for my 14-day quarantine. And despite entering a “HOTEL”, they wanted to know about my housing arrangements.
But that’s only half the journey. St. Lucia has additional requirements, including printing and completing a form and obtaining authorisation via an online system. While that had me upload vast amounts of private data and COVID-19 results, it put me in a “pending” state and asked me to submit PCR test results. This is despite the requirement for said test having been rescinded several days ago. The web page didn’t include contact information, but my Google-Fu turned up an address, and they responded quickly, stating that no confirmation is necessary.
COVID-19 Testing
This is the only positive part of the trip planning. Had I flown a week earlier, I would have needed negative test results, and due to timing, I might have had to take two tests. But neither Canada nor St. Lucia requires PCR tests for vaccinated travellers.
Confirmations & Check-In
Both airlines (Lufthansa and Air Canada) also wanted electronic copies of vaccination status, which I provided. Lufthansa sent me an email today with the link to online check-in, and I got halfway through the process when an error message popped up. It stated “an error has occurred” – not very helpful. But a small box said that if the problem persisted, I should call a number in Frankfurt. I did. And waited over 1 1/2 hours of inane talk about “difficult times” and new procedures before I got to an operator. Who merely checked my booking and said that I’d have to check in at the airport. What bollocks – either Lufthansa shouldn’t have emailed me telling me to check in online to avoid problems, or the online system should have said “Error, you must check in at the airport”. But I wasted all my time on the phone for a conversation that lasted less than 2 minutes. 😠