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Danish police to spot-check travellers for Covid-19 tests

Spot checks will be carried out by police, including at Danish borders, from Monday in accordance with new rules requiring all travellers entering the country to take a Covid-19 test.

Published: 27 December 2021 17:37 CET

A file photo of baggage claim at Copenhagen Airport. Authorities will spot check travellers for negative Covi-19 tests following the introduction of new rules on December 27th.

A file photo of baggage claim at Copenhagen Airport. Authorities will spot check travellers for negative Covi-19 tests following the introduction of new rules on December 27th. Photo: Søren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

Compliance with the rules will be checked at borders and as part of general police work, a senior officer with Copenhagen Police said.

“The idea is that we will check (for compliance) provided we are alerted (to a possible breach of rules) or in connection with other police business at the location,” inspector Lars-Ole Karlsen of Copenhagen Police told news wire Ritzau, as reported by broadcaster DR.

Under the new rules, all travellers are required to test for Covid-19 in connection with arrival in Denmark. The rule applies to Danish citizens and residents as well as foreign visitors. It also applies regardless of vaccination status.

READ ALSO: Travellers returning to Denmark after Christmas must take Covid-19 test

Residents of Denmark are permitted to take a test up to 24 hours after arrival, while people without an address in Denmark must take a Covid-19 test before entry to the Scandinavian country.

In the latter case, entry tests can be a PCR test up to 72 hours before arrival or a rapid antigen test taken up to 48 hours before arrival.

“We will check that there is compliance with the rules that have now been created. If that is not the case, fines can be given,” Karlsen said.

Failure to comply with the testing rules, which will be in force until at least January 17th 2022, can result in a fine of 3,500 kroner (470 euros).

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Here's what you need to know about travel in Denmark in the summer of 2024

Roads

The Danish Road Directorate is predicting a surge in traffic starting the moment “the bell rings in the country’s schools on Friday afternoon”.

“Many have probably already packed the car with beach blankets and swimwear and ticked off the calendar for the exact day when they have planned to drive to a holiday home, to the beach or south down through Europe,” the directorate says in its summer traffic guide.

Summer traffic will start from 2pm on Friday June 28th, with the directorate warning of “heavy traffic and a risk of minor traffic jams”, growing to a peak on Saturday June 29th when the directorate is warning of a “significant risk of traffic jams and longer journey times”.

On Sunday, June 30th, the peak will subside to the same levels as on Friday 28th. The pattern will then be repeated on Saturday July 6th (very heavy traffic) and Sunday July 7th (quite heavy), and Saturday July 13th (very heavy) and Sunday July 14th (quite heavy), as people return from weeks off or set off late.

The peak of return traffic will come on Saturday August 10th and Sunday August 11th, when the directorate is again warning of a “significant risk of traffic jams and longer journey times”.

You can see worst dates here on the roads directorate’s traffic light chart.

Source: Danish Roads Directorate

Where will the summer traffic hotspots be?

Traffic will be particularly bad on the E20 motorway between Køge, south of Copenhagen, and then across the Great Belt Bridge, and also on the E20 through the western half of Funen.

It will also be bad on the E45 motorway around Kolding and at the border with Germany.

The directorate also expects heavy traffic to and from the ferry ports towards Germany at Rødby and Gedser as well as the E45 between Aarhus Nord and Skærup.

READ ALSO: How to decode Denmark’s old-fashioned motorway names

There will also be traffic on the weekend changeover days on roads to and from Denmark’s most popular coastal holiday areas.

The roads directorate is warning particular of Route 21 to and from Sjællands Odde, Route 16 north of Hillerød, Route 11 along the west coast of Jutland, Route 55 at Løkken and Blokhus and Route 40 to and from Skagen.

Trains

Up until Sunday 25 August, Denmark’s rail track operator Banedanmark is upgrading the tracks between Copenhagen, Slagelse and Odense, leading to changed departure times and longer journey times. The track work will also affect EuroCity trains to Hamburg from Copenhagen.

Denmark’s train operator DSB recommends that travellers check the planned departure and travel times on the Rejseplanen app on the day before their departure.

Flights

Denmark’s airports are likely to be busier than usual as tourists stream in and Danes set off to even sunnier and warmer climes for their holidays, but there are no strikes or other disruptions expected.

Those travelling elsewhere in Europe should be aware of a potential traffic controller’s strike at Paris Orly airport, from the second week of July, a baggage handler’s strike on July 5th at Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Venice’s Marco Polo, and Bologna’s Guglielmo Marconi airports in Italy, and an aircraft technicians’ strike affecting flights from Norway operated by Norwegian and Widerøe.

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