Covid surging in Bonaire

[NDL_Diver]

@drrich2 Bonaire consistently says the departure that matters is the one where you start the trip. Most people to be safe -- and demonstrably some airline gate agents -- use the final leg of the journey, i.e. the flight that actually goes to Bonaire, and try and get a test 48h (NAAT) or 24h (antigen) before that final flight. Depending on how you worded your query to them, it will be interesting to see their response. The bad news is that it may not matter to an ill-informed gate agent, who holds all the cards.

That segment you quoted from BonaireCrisis.com is NOT about layovers in the same country you started from; it is about layovers on an intermediate country, and whose rules apply.

The 48h or 24h is actual hours, not 2 or 1 days, and without fiddling with what clocks/time-zones say.

Your 0630 out of Nashville and 1030 out of MIA is no issue. You get your test within 48h or 24h before 0630, since presumably your test is in the same time zone as your initial departure airport.

ADDED: Most likely your testing paperwork will only be looked at by your originating airport gate agent, because they are the ones sending you to Bonaire and checking your luggage through. The gate agent in MIA will assume the gate agent that sent you to MIA did their job. Most likely.

It is the Last leg that leaves for Bonaire. Here now. 100% sure that United travel ready specificity stated my PCR test was after 12:05 on Thursday or 12:05 Antigen on Friday (departure time for Bonaire leg).

They looked at date and time very carefully at landing in Bonaire but don't know what they were checking.

United wil probably not accept it via automated system.

 

[tursiops]

It is the Last leg that leaves for Bonaire. Here now. 100% sure that United travel ready specificity stated my PCR test was after 12:05 on Thursday or 12:05 Antigen on Friday (departure time for Bonaire leg).

They looked at date and time very carefully at landing in Bonaire but don't know what they were checking.

United wil probably not accept it via automated system.

United has its own set of rules, only vaguely related to those of Bonaire.

 

[agd]

Hereby we would like to inform you that the 48 hour PCR-test or 24 hour antigen-test timeframe refers to your first departure from your originating flight.(Nashville, Tennessee) Your Covid-test results will remain valid for 24 hours in case of a layover. However, if your layover/transit is more than 24 hours, then the testing timeframe will refer to your second leg of connection flight. (Miami)

I don't understand why this is repeatedly mis-interpreted, over thought, over complicated and second guessed. Tursiops explained it clearly. There is no ambiguity from Public Health Bonaire.

If you leave from Anytown, USA or Tierra del Fuego or Mombasa, an antigen test taken within 24 hours of scheduled departure from the first place of departure remains valid no matter how many connections you make. Layovers over 24 hours and leaving the airport in a 3rd country changes things, but this is not what is being discussed. Time zone changes between Bonaire and the testing/departure location make absolutely zero difference. (before someone objects about testing in Mountain Time and departing in Central Time, it is still 24 hours, not necessarily the same position of the hands on the clock!)

That being said, tursiops advice about ill informed airport staff is worth consideration. So while I would not go out of my way to do so, if it is not inconvenient, scheduling the test within 24 hours of the final flight does remove that irritant. We have bumped into that situation a couple of times. Eventually solved but annoying none the less.

But otherwise, just keep it simple!

 

[NDL_Diver]

I don't understand why this is repeatedly mis-interpreted, over thought, over complicated and second guessed. Tursiops explained it clearly. There is no ambiguity from Public Health Bonaire.

If you leave from Anytown, USA or Tierra del Fuego or Mombasa, an antigen test taken within 24 hours of scheduled departure from the first place of departure remains valid no matter how many connections you make. Layovers over 24 hours and leaving the airport in a 3rd country changes things, but this is not what is being discussed. Time zone changes between Bonaire and the testing/departure location make absolutely zero difference. (before someone objects about testing in Mountain Time and departing in Central Time, it is still 24 hours, not necessarily the same position of the hands on the clock!)

That being said, tursiops advice about ill informed airport staff is worth consideration. So while I would not go out of my way to do so, if it is not inconvenient, scheduling the test within 24 hours of the final flight does remove that irritant. We have bumped into that situation a couple of times. Eventually solved but annoying none the less.

But otherwise, just keep it simple!

I agree, KISS is the best approach. BUT, I can tell you what United Travel ready said. What if you are denied boarding?

Keep pinging Bonaire health and tell them they have an issue with xyz airlines I guess.

Check whatever airline app/website for requirements. Ping them if they don't align.

It is to the point where what is the point in testing? It is on the island. It is in the US. What are we trying to stop?

 

[drrich2]

Apologies as this may've already been covered; I skimmed back from page 53 - 45 of this thread and didn't seen an obvious answer.

A lot of discussion has gone into getting to Bonaire from the U.S. What about the reverse? Who are you guys using, or likely to use, for the rapid antigen test due the day before departure to the U.S.? Did you have to make an appointment by phone, or was e-mail an option?

I'm aware there was discussion of tele-proctored, but I'd prefer to just drop by and have someone do it, get the result and give me a print out.

 

[tursiops]

Apologies as this may've already been covered; I skimmed back from page 53 - 45 of this thread and didn't seen an obvious answer.

A lot of discussion has gone into getting to Bonaire from the U.S. What about the reverse? Who are you guys using, or likely to use, for the rapid antigen test due the day before departure to the U.S.? Did you have to make an appointment by phone, or was e-mail an option?

I'm aware there was discussion of tele-proctored, but I'd prefer to just drop by and have someone do it, get the result and give me a print out.

BonaireCrisis.com lists three places to get tested:

• BonBida www.bonbida.com/covid-19-pcr-testing-on-bonaire
• Covid Test Bonaire home | Covid-19 test
• Hestia (in collaboration with BonLab) www.bonairesafetravel.org

BonBida is across the street from Sand Dollar, and is favored by the northern resorts (SD, Buddy Dive, Cap't Don's). Covid Test Bonaire is at the Rental Car building at the Airport, and is the favored "drive-through" place. the cost there is about $40. Hestia is also at the airport. If you are in a group, you can make arrangements for the testers to come to your resort. Walkins are possible, but appointments are recommended.

 

[USC8791]

@drrich2 We used Bon Bida this past July, and Covid Test Bonaire (CTB) this past October. They both worked well and without issue. We scheduled our appointments prior to arriving on the island. Bon Bida provided results while we waited, and CTB emailed the results within a few hours. At the time CTB was operating out of a shipping container across the street from the airport behind one of the rental car agencies. Their setup seemed super sketchy, but they were very professional and it worked great.

 

[scubadada]

BonaireCrisis.com lists three places to get tested:

• BonBida www.bonbida.com/covid-19-pcr-testing-on-bonaire
• Covid Test Bonaire home | Covid-19 test
• Hestia (in collaboration with BonLab) www.bonairesafetravel.org

BonBida is across the street from Sand Dollar, and is favored by the northern resorts (SD, Buddy Dive, Cap't Don's). Covid Test Bonaire is at the Rental Car building at the Airport, and is the favored "drive-through" place. the cost there is about $40. Hestia is also at the airport. If you are in a group, you can make arrangements for the testers to come to your resort. Walkins are possible, but appointments are recommended.

My wife and I used BonBida last Nov, walked across the street from Den Laman. We reserved the first appointment in the morning and walked out with our printed result 15 min later It was quickly accepted into AAs VeriFly and made our departure quick and easy.

 

[rmorgan]

We’re fans of the BinaxNow Ag19 video-proctored tests. Order them in advance (Delta links to the site, which is optum dot com. Takes 20 minutes. We’ve used them twice and had no significant glitches.

 

[tursiops]

We’re fans of the BinaxNow Ag19 video-proctored tests. Order them in advance (Delta links to the site, which is optum dot com. Takes 20 minutes. We’ve used them twice and had no significant glitches.

I've only heard three negative comments on these tests:
1) sometime sthe test kits are faulty (like missing fluid), so be sure to have at least one extra kit
2) sometimes the video link is poor, so search out good WiFi to ensure keeping a connection
3) sometime the proctor is hard to understand -- speaking quickly or quietly or in a difficult accent.

We used this coming home from Cozumel in December; we experienced both #2 and #3.

Bonaire is so easy and accessible and costly-effective that we don't bother with the proctored test there.