A Boeing 787-9 is being displayed.Nicolas Economou/Nur Photo
Two flights from South Africa were held at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol due to new travel restrictions.
Paula was live-posting her experience trying to enter the Netherlands.
Passengers were brought to the terminal on shuttle buses for testing after one flight was deplaned.
European countries have locked down their borders in response to the new variant of COVID-19.
Travel restrictions from southern African countries where the variant has been detected are being implemented in countries like the UK and Netherlands, with travelers already being caught in the balance.
The flights from South Africa to the Netherlands were temporarily barred from deplaning after touching down in the Netherlands.
The flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg left early Friday morning and arrived in Amsterdam later in the day, according to data from FlightAware. Dutch travel restrictions for South Africa went into effect at noon. The flights were still affected by the time in Amsterdam.
The passengers of two KL-flights were not allowed to leave the aircraft after landing by order of the Dutch government and health organizations.
Travelers were allowed into the terminal, but they had to pass mandatory COVID-19 testing before being allowed to leave. A reporter for the New York Times was on the plane and said the wait was at least four hours.
A video from inside a flight from Cape Town, South Africa to Amsterdam that was prevented from deplaning was posted on the internet.
The captain of her flight said that the Cape Town and Johannesburg flights couldn't enter the Netherlands without restrictions. I can imagine that you have a lot of questions as well, but that is the situation we are facing.
The flight was assigned a remote gate at the airport, with passengers being led to shuttle busses that took them to the terminal.
"We're inside the terminal at the airport and everyone is waiting to get tested," said Zimmerman after arriving at the airport. There is little social distance going on as far as I can see.
The airport environment gave little reprieve or clarity on the status of the passengers as they traveled through the airport. The GGD is tasked with testing passengers at the airport, according to an airport spokesman.
"People are getting more and more anxious, they want to get tested, they want to go home, and how long this is going to take: we don't know," said Zimmerman in the video.
The most recent update stated that passengers were in the process of being tested even after hours of waiting.
The testing should have been done by 5 o'clock, but there is still a long queue, and passengers are unsure what to do after they receive their results. The people are getting upset and they want food. Everything is fine.
Testing was expected to be finished by 4:30 pm local time, with results to be available by 9:00 pm. The conditions within the terminal were not immediately responded to by Schiphol Airport.
The Netherlands has imposed strict travel restrictions in the past in order to prevent more COVID-19 outbreaks. Travelers are required to get a negative result from a test within 72 hours of a flight's departure as well as a rapid test result no later than four hours prior to departure.
The European Union wants to stop flights from southern African countries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that all air travel should be stopped. Travelers returning from this region should respect strictQuarantine rules and suspend their travel until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant.
There were 12 flights scheduled for November 26 from southern Africa, including South Africa and Namibia, to Europe. Direct flights to Europe are not available to Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and other countries.
Other carriers offer connections to Europe.
Business Insider has an original article.
