Reuters faces a rise in international travelers vaccinated by the US

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States expects a flood of international visitors to cross its borders by air and land on Monday after removing travel restrictions for many of the world’s population in early 2020 to address the spread of COVID-19.

United Airlines expects about 50% more international inbound passengers https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-usa-travel-facts-idUSL1N2RM00E compared to last Monday, when it had about 20,000.

And Delta Air Lines (NYSE 🙂 Ed Bastian has warned passengers that they need to be prepared for long starting lines.

“It’s going to be a little messy at first. I can assure you, there will be lines https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-warning-international-travelers-long-lines-monday-official- 2021-11-05, unfortunately, ”Bastian said, and“ we’ll fix it. ”

Delta said in the six weeks since the reopening of the U.S. was announced, international point-of-sale bookings have increased by 450% compared to the six weeks prior to the announcement.

White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Twitter (NYSE :): “As we expect high demand when the US lifts air and ground travel restrictions on Monday, we are taking critical steps to prepare by providing additional resources.”

The Biden administration has made numerous calls with U.S. airlines to prepare for the arrival of additional passengers who will begin arriving at U.S. airports, and has warned passengers crossing Canada or Mexico by land or ferry to be ready for longer waits from Monday.

For Bhavna Patel https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/grandmother-grandson-finally-meet-us-flights-reopen-2021-11-05, a flight from London will take her to Berria. More than a year after York was seen growing up on FaceTime to see her first grandchild on Monday.

The rules have banned most non-US citizens who have been to 33 countries in the previous 14 days – unrestricted controls in 26 European Schengen countries, China, India, South Africa, Iran, Brazil, Britain and Ireland.

The trade group said the country accounted for 53% of foreign visitors to the United States in 2019 and that the border community was hit hard by the loss of tourists crossing from Mexico and Canada. The group estimates that the decline in international visits has “lost nearly $ 300 billion in export earnings” since March 2020.

U.S. airlines are increasing flights to Europe and other destinations affected by the restrictions. The airline is planning events for Monday to bring together some of the first flights of executives.

Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo and United Airlines President Brett Hart are holding an event on Monday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to celebrate the reopening.

U.S. officials have scheduled a live Instagram chat on Nov. 9 at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=253626883467036&set=a.227341039428954 to help answer questions.

Many international flights are expected to fly in full or on Monday, and will have a large volume of passengers in the coming weeks.

The companies will verify the vaccination documentation for international passengers as they currently do in the results of the COVID-19 tests. At land border crossings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will ask passengers if they have been vaccinated and will verify any documentation.

Children under the age of 18 are exempt from the new vaccination requirements. Non-tourist travelers from almost 50 countries with vaccination rates of less than 10% nationwide will also be eligible for the exemption.

Also on Monday, new contact tracing rules will come into force requiring airlines to collect information from international air passengers, “to monitor passengers who have been exposed to COVID-19 variants or other pathogens.”