BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Oct. 1, 2020– The Philip Goldson International Airport (PGIA) now is opened to incoming commercial flights as well as for outgoing international flights. As of today, Thursday, October 1, limited flights via United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta will now be available to and from the country.

The process of entering the country will be different from what most travelers are familiar with and will reflect the new norm. Persons arriving in the country will have to pass through seven different checkpoints before being cleared to enter Belize. Travelers will also have to download the Belize Health App on their mobile device.

The app will aid authorities in tracking those visitors’ movement while in the country and will dispense information to those within the app database. The app is mainly for tourists entering the country; they will be required to register their travel details in Belize within 72 hours of their arrival, and a unique QR code will be given to each person, which they will need upon arrival in Belize.

Persons coming to the country are being asked to take an approved PCR test within 72 hours of their departure to Belize. A negative test will speed up their entry into the country, since those persons will be placed in the fast track arrival lane at the airport.

While some persons will still be tested upon arrival in Belize, those who were tested in the country from which they departed en route to Belize are asked to e-mail all relevant documents from the facility where they were tested and to bring all documents that certify the results of their tests.

Persons without such documentation will be required to take a PCR test when they arrive in Belize at the cost of $50 USD. Belizeans arriving in-country will be required to take a mandatory test at the airport and to go in self-quarantine for at least 10 days.

Anyone testing positive will be required to go into mandatory quarantine for 14 days at a pre-booked hotel or an approved quarantine hotel.

A testing area has been established by the Ministry of Health outside terminal two at the PGIA; and 12 passengers can be accommodated at a time in this testing area.

Those tested at the airport will not be required to wait for their results. Rather, persons will be swabbed and then directed to Customs and Immigration for entry.

Family members of persons returning to Belize will have to pick them up just before the security checkpoint.

Visiting tourists will be given a “Welcome to Belize” wristband, which must be worn in order to gain access to public transportation and their gold-certified hotel, and they must also check in daily via the Belize Health App.

Also, only vehicles from approved Gold Standard hotels will be allowed on the airport grounds; other taxi drivers will not be allowed there.

While the reopening of the PGIA marks a symbolical reopening of the tourism industry in Belize, our land borders with Mexico and Guatemala will remain closed.