All Along the Watchtower

There must be some kind of way outta here,
Said the joker to the thief,
There’s too much confusion,
I can’t get no relief . . .

Picture this: you’ve made it via connecting flight thru the busy skies of “The City” (you know, the one so nice they named it twice) and you’re about ninety minutes away from take off, when the gate agent announces everybody needs to line up to review all the necessary paperwork. An impromptu line forms and quickly degenerates into a scrum. Everyone has a passport and a boarding pass, but not everybody has a vaccine card or negative Covid test. Some have all these, but not the online form from the Greek government. Chaos ensues, as passengers scramble to download the app, or find their documentation. The documentation check becomes a hasty boarding line, as those who pass the muster go directly aboard. Harrowing even for those of us with everything in order!

This was the scene for us at Kennedy airport in New York yesterday, or the day before, depending on what time zone you’re in. It was the third day since Greece reopened to US tourists, and the third straight day of full planes heading non-stop to Athens. So some confusion was anticipated, and it didn’t disappoint.

The good news is the line eventually resolved, even those who needed a test could get one, and those needing the Greek government permission form could quickly submit and get conditional approval. In the end, no one was turned away.

Greece would normally be neck deep in American tourists in June, but we were among the first thousand or so. The Greek government’s app worked as promised, and I received final approval via e-mail as were flying in. They had more than adequate staff on hand to quickly pass the visitors through a cursory check of your Covid vaccination status, then immigration.

The airports (Atlanta and JFK) were very crowded, partially because it was a holiday weekend, partially because restrictions are lifting. Athens airport was still a skeleton operation, but it was clear they focused their limited resources on these new arrivals.

All’s well that ends well, and we made four flights, two international connections, and two border crossings over the course of two days. Not exactly carefree travel, but given where the world was not so long ago, well worth it!

Next up: Santorini!