New Flying Restrictions In Denmark After Border Closing In Response To COVID-19

Airports in Denmark are expecting severe reductions in passenger numbers after the Danish government announced border closures to stem the spread of COVID-19, which went into effect beginning at noon on Saturday 14 March 2020.

On Friday, the government called for a halt of all travel abroad and recommended that Danish citizens return home at the soonest opportunity.

The new border closures, announced on Friday evening, are limiting entry to Danish citizens, legal residents, and those who have an approved express purpose for their visit.

1. Danish Citizens, who can provide a Danish passport or another valid travelling document.
2. EU-Citizens with valid travelling documents living in Denmark and who can provide/present a Danish social security card. (Gult sygesikringsbevis el. Sundhedskort)
3. Third-country nationals with valid travelling documents and with a Danish residence permit
4. Foreigners who have a valid purpose in Denmark, (e.g.)
   1. Visiting a critically or terminal ill family member
   2. Participating in a funeral
   3. Called for a court case
   4. Exercising visitation rights with a minor
   5. Being a legal guardian for a minor
   6. Already in an ongoing health treatment
   7. Have employment in Denmark – documentation needed
   8. Passengers in transit or with connecting flights, and who can provide/present a valid ticket for the next destination which must be non-domestic.
   9. Passengers who can provide documentation for having their vehicle parked at Copenhagen Airport, and who need the vehicle for their ongoing journey out of Denmark (e.g. to Sweden)

These regulations, bullets 1-4, apply to all passengers arriving from a Schengen or a non-Schengen destination. All passengers who do not qualify for points 1-4, will be refused entry.

These restrictions do not include passengers on domestic flights and flights from the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

SAS Determining Next Steps

SAS published the following statement with regard to the impact of these restrictions on their operations:

“The global corona pandemic is already having a substantial effect on our activities in SAS. SAS acknowledges, that this is a global societal problem, which takes extraordinary measures to solve. We are currently reviewing how this affects our operation and we are in a continued dialogue with all relevant authorities on how to handle this and related issues.”