Flying out of Porto Saturday at 11am to YUL via Munich on Lufthansa
The email I received says the antigen test:
Negative antigen test taken within 1 day before departure.
Can I take a test at around 9am Friday morning? Does that count as « within 1 day » ?
Thanks
According to the Canadian government's covid-19 testing for travelers page, for a professionally administered or observed negative antigen test,
- the one day window does not depend on the time of day the test was taken or the time of your flight or entry
- for example, if your flight is scheduled to leave or you enter by land any time on Friday, you could provide proof of a negative result from an antigen test taken any time on Thursday, or on Friday
- it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service
- the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained
- the test must be performed outside of Canada
so a test administered Friday morning is acceptable for a flight anytime on Saturday.
Note, however, that the requirements are changing, and starting April 1, fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be required to provide proof of a negative test.
Is the pre-flight COVID test really strict on time?
To add a more general answer in addition to mlc's answer focusing on Canada, assuming that the covid test is required for your case, that depends on the destination country's policies, the airline's policy and the transit countries' policies. In some situations, the covid test time will matter.
I received an email from Lufthansa with this :
"Passengers on flights to Germany must present a negative Covid-19 test upon entry into Germany. The test must have been carried out at the earliest 48 hours (antigen) prior to arrival in Germany, "
So it answered my concerns.
Still not sure if I stay air-side at the airport it's considered entering Germany.
I took my test earlier today and got a negative result.
So, no biggie on that front.