Over 200,000 returning travellers' forms collected in four days

Over 200,000 returning travellers' forms collected in four days
© Belga

Hundreds of thousands of contact tracing forms for travellers returning to Belgium from abroad have already been collected since they were released only four days ago.

The Passenger Locator Form (PLF) was rolled out on Saturday and made mandatory for all returning travellers having spent more than 48 hours abroad.

Foreign nationals coming to Belgium for a period of more than 48 hours are also required to fill in the form, which collects passenger contact data to facilitate contact tracing procedures.

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On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Federal Public Health Service (FPS Public Health), Vinciane Charlier, said that more than 200,000 forms had already been filed.

While they suggest high travel figures, the numbers could still be an underestimation, with border checks by police showing that many travellers coming into or returning to Belgium by land had failed to fill in the form.

On Saturday, police carried out checks on 51 vehicles on the E40, in the direction of the coast, and found that only 18 cars had the form.

Police said that this week, fines of up to €250 would be issued to cars who were subjected to having the filled-in form but failed to produce it, DH reports.

The PLF must be completed by travellers returning from all colour-coded zones between 48 and 2 hours before arriving in Belgium.

“You will have to fill in your personal data, the country you stayed in, the number of days you travelled for, things like that,” Claes said. “If you are returning by plane, your flight number and seat number will also be requested.”

After completing the form, you will receive a QR validation code by email. “This is proof that you have completed the form correctly. Returning air travellers must show this QR when boarding. If you do not, you will not be able to board,” Claes said.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


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