NATO Airmen To Go Into 4-Week Quarantine Before Patrols Begin

Italian airmen who are scheduled to conduct air patrols of Icelandic airspace in mid-June will first have to go through quarantine totalling four weeks, the Icelandic Coast Guard has announced.

The airmen will have to undergo a medical examination, with samples taken from them for testing, and be in 14-day quarantine at their base abroad before coming to Iceland. Upon arrival, they will have to be in quarantine at Keflavík for another 14 days.

NATO airmen regularly conduct air patrols of Icelandic airspace, as a part of Iceland’s agreement with the organisation. The last air patrols concluded in early April, with the departure of Norwegian airmen. The Italians were supposed to take over from there, but were unable to due to the circumstances. These patrols will now resume.

The plan is for some 135 airmen to take part in these patrols, in addition to workers at the NATO Combined Air Operations Center in Uedem, Germany. Six F-35 air vehicles are due in Iceland next week. Their patrols will conclude after mid-July.

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