Iceland becomes first Schengen country to welcome international travelers
(VOVWORLD) - Iceland has became the first Schengen country to welcome all international travelers who can prove they've either recovered from Covid-19 or been vaccinated, reported France 24.
 Iceland's Keflavik international airport (Photo: isavia.is) |
On Thursday, only one flight landed at Iceland's Keflavik international airport -- from Frankfurt with 150 passengers -- a far cry from the dozens that used to land daily before the pandemic. While the move is aimed at rescuing the country's struggling tourism sector, it remains largely symbolic.
The European Union on Wednesday announced plans for a digital vaccine travel certificate expected to be in place by summer.
But Iceland, a non-EU member which belongs to the Schengen area on free movement, has since the end of January welcomed travelers from the Schengen area as long as they can prove they've received their two vaccine doses. That has now been expanded to any traveler, including those outside the Schengen zone, who can present either the WHO's Yellow Card vaccination certificate or a positive Covid-19 test dating back more than 14 days.