NEW YORK – Greeks from the United States traveling to Greece with a stopover flight may face serious problems, if they have not filled out the Passenger Locator Form (PLF), which they have to complete up to 24 hours before boarding the flight.

This form is available online: travel.gov.gr, and should include, among other things, the flight code to Greece, address and contact details, as well as the area in which the traveler stayed up to 14 days before his or her trip to Greece.

This document can be completed at any time up to 24 hours before the flight, so that the traveler is covered and does not face penalties or even a boarding ban.

However, an important element is the special code (QR Code), which is received electronically on the day of the scheduled arrival in Greece. In this case, due to the time difference, expatriates often receive the QR Code when boarding or even during their trip to Europe.

This system, which may have taken into account the possibility of direct flight, has created problems, especially for older passengers who are not completely familiar with the technology. This is because, at stopover airports, airline staff sometimes request, in addition to the PLF, the QR Code, and there have been cases when some passengers were prohibited from boarding their connecting flight to Greece.

As a Greek Consular Authority official in a European capital told The National Herald, the QR Code should not normally be a prerequisite for the connecting flight, as it concerns the diagnostic test upon arrival in Greece. In this case, showing the PLF should suffice, but airlines may also require the QR Code.

Incidents have been reported in Paris and the Netherlands, while in Germany, according to information shared with TNH, there were cases of expatriates who did not show the PLF and were ordered to return to the United States.

It should be mentioned that if a passenger misses his or her flight for this reason, in the best case he or she will be able to travel to Greece after 24 hours, after having immediately filled out a new application to receive a new PLF and QR Code.

In any case, it should be noted that the completion of the PLF is mandatory and it is recommended to that all travelers have a charged device with internet access, in case they are asked to show the QR Code they have received.

More information is available online: https://travel.gov.gr/#/.