New U.S. International Travel Rules: What To Expect

Above, an United Airlines jet being readied for an overseas flight. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The announcement of the new system for international travel for U.S. citizens contained some good news and some not so new.

TravelPulse has posted an article on things to expect with the new rules. These include higher prices and longer lines.

The wrote:

We’re fast approaching November 8, the date the United States’ new system for international travel goes into effect, and fully vaccinated foreign visitors can enter the country under a simpler and more inclusive set of COVID-19 regulations.

Under the new rules, international air arrivals coming from more than 30 countries must be fully vaccinated and provide a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of boarding their U.S.-bound flight.

The relaxation of U.S. border restrictions means that foreigners from more than 30 countries, whose citizens have been blanketly banned from entering the U.S. for the past 19 months, may visit for non-essential purposes—perhaps to reunite with friends or family or simply to vacation. That comes as most welcome news to the U.S. travel industry, which was categorically brought to its knees by fallout from the pandemic.

In its announcement earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also stipulated that airlines are to be responsible for collecting passengers’ information and passing it on to the agency for contact-tracing purposes. That’s expected to put additional strain on airport operations, since many carriers are still struggling to keep up in terms of adequate staffing levels and re-training.

Daniel Burnham, senior member operations specialist at Scott’s Cheap Flights, predicted that, with airline personnel being burdened with collecting contact information, and verifying each passenger’s vaccination status and test results, “this will likely cause crowding in the early days of implementing these new rules at many European airports,” as he told NBC News.

So, international travelers trying to fly to the U.S. are likely to encounter significant back-ups, long lines and wait times at the airport. They’re also likely to find fewer bargains on flights and accommodations, especially for hotels in popular U.S. cities, such as New York, Los Angeles and Orlando.

To read more, go here.