Do I need a COVID-19 test to fly?

If you’re looking to travel internationally, more and more countries are requiring travelers—particularly tourists or non-residents— to submit a negative RT-PCR test report from an accredited or approved laboratory conducted within a specific time window.

Similarly, travelling domestically means adhering to rules that may or may not be less stringent depending on which country you’re in and the policy of the individual airlines themselves.

So to reiterate, the need for pre-flight COVID testing depends on where you are and where you’re travelling to. If you’re planning on flying somewhere, do take into account the fact that most domestic and international destinations allow a 48- 72-hour window from the time of testing until the time of arrival at final destination. Each Country with its own rules, and these rules are subject to unforeseen immediate change sometimes.

To add, some Airlines have also established their own requirements, demanding ANY passenger (infants included) to carry an RT- PCR result for the purpose of flying with that particular carrier.

You should get in touch with the airline company or your travel agent to verify carefully what is the time window you need in order to reach your final destination and see how to fit it with the government’s requirement of your final destination.

The most common and reliable form of testing is the RT-PCR (Real-time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. While rapid antigen tests along with antibody tests are also available, they may not be accepted due to issues with false positives/negatives occurrences. That said, some countries now started to request ONLY a quick Antigen test before the flight, Some require Antigen test AND RT-PCR altogether (Japan as example)

As of now, the primary method is a nasopharyngeal swab, which is a swab through the nose and the back of the throat. Currently, Lab manufacturers are working on some tests which are being developed so the test can be administered using saliva sample.(Not in use yet)

That said, turnaround time varies depending on the method of testing where you took the test. While a Quick Antigen test is notoriously fast and is capable of producing results within 20 minutes, An RT-PCR test may take few hours for the results to be available and delivered. More, since Ag tests are so called random access kit – a single individual standalone independent complete test (each test on its own) allowing to be done at any time and almost immediately, while RT-PCR kits contain a batch of 48 or 96 tests needing an accumulative group of patients. That translates into a “cut-timeline” for receiving passenger’s samples. The turnaround time from testing to results at hand varies, between answers the same day, or if done at night – morning next day.

How to book a test:

  1. Chose between Int'l Flights and Domestic Flights. Do note that on domestic flights where hotels are involved you might face a different test requirment than what the Carrier demands.

2. Please choose below your carrier.

3. Fill the online form, including your flight ticket number.

4. Make sure you bring your Printed out FORM, flight ticket, AND your passport.

5. Which Test: The type and timing of tests by country are constantly changing. Our teams are refreshing the data on a 24 hour base. Please note that some carriers demand a PCR test regardless of what the final destination country is willing to recieve.

Family Medical Practice will take NO RESPONSIBILITY for wrong input of Passport details into the wefly form . MAKE SURE YOUR DATA IS

CORRECT AND ACCURATE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT !

You can get tested in a number of places – Hanoi Van Phuc, Ho Chi Minh City – at District 7, District 2, and District 1. However, in most cases, contacting our coordination team (See below) is the recommended course of action as they would be able to provide you with the latest local information on testing and what you would need to do in order to acquire the negative certificate required for flying.

General Schedules for PCR and Antigen tests:

  1. FMP District 2 , 95 thao Dien : Antigen Quick test 07:00-17:00 Mon- Sun Results: in 30 minutes

  2. FMP District 1 , Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan : Antigen Quick test 08:00-16:45 Mon- Sun Results: in 30 minutes

  3. FMP District 7, thao Dien : Antigen Quick test 07:00-17:00 Mon- Sun Results: in 30 minutes

WE DO NOT SERVE TRAFFIC TO CHINA

For the South (Danang included) of Vietnam, please call

(028) 3827 3478

For the North of Vietnam, please call

0777 399 119

Our Medical Centers address for your convenience

FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE HO CHI MINH CITY

District 1 Medical Center:

34 Le Duan Street, District 1

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

District 2 Medical Center:

95 Thao Dien Street, District 2

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

District 7 Medical Center:

41 Dang Duc Thuat Street, District 7

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE HANOI

298 I Kim Ma Street, Van Phuc Compound, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam