Austria's Minister of Health Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) wants to tighten the entry regulations. He announced that people arriving by plane from the Netherlands, Spain and Cyprus would have to undergo a PCR test directly at the airports. It sounds like a drastic tightening, but very few travelers are actually affected.

The entry regulations already mean that you do not have to carry out the test abroad, but can be tested in Austria within 24 hours and free of charge. Basically it is just a kind of "tutoring" that you actually undergo the test.

This only affects passengers who fly non-stop to Austria from the three countries and have neither been vaccinated nor tested. People who can show a negative PCR test (maximum 72 hours old) or who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will not have to undergo a PCR smear at Austrian airports in the future either. The situation for those who have recovered is still a little unclear, although an adjustment will be made here. Anyone who has survived Covid-19 and has also received a vaccination will in future be considered fully vaccinated in accordance with the entry regulations.

If you want to enter Austria and cannot meet the 3G rule, you have to fill out the so-called Pre Travel Clearance. This must be shown to the armed forces at the entry check. According to Wolfgang Mückstein, only this group of people is affected and only comes from Spain, Cyprus and the Netherlands. The PCR test at the airport should be free of charge and you only have to be in quarantine if the result is positive. The exact time of implementation is still open, because Mückstein has not yet issued the relevant ordinance. As long as this has not been published in the Federal Law Gazette, adjustments are to be expected. In general, it should be pointed out that the announcements made by politicians in many cases do not correspond to the legally binding regulation. Concerned travelers should therefore keep an eye on the situation.