Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor

Mvk5945@psu.edu

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a travel ban has been in place for foregin nationals who wish to enter the United States. The travel bans have been in place for well over a year at this point, most of which began under the previous Trump administration. 

The travel bans have had a negative impact on many families who have been separated out of the country, as well as having negative effects on the tourism industry as a whole. The Trump administration first began implementing these travel restrictions in March or 2020. President Biden upheld those rules upon taking office in January. 

The Biden Administration is finally easing these restrictions, and starting in November, foreign citizens will be able to enter the country if they are able to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and provide proof that they have tested negative for the virus within three days of when they wish to enter the country. The easing of restrictions in November is expected to cause a spike in airline travel right before the holiday season. 

President Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, announced the new travel policy on Monday, September 20th, 2021. The Biden Administration is going to be cooperating with airlines throughout the upcoming weeks in order to facilitate the most effective implementation of this new policy. Travelers will have to provide their phone number and email address in order to allow for more enhanced contact tracing. 

Zients said, “ “In the coming weeks, Center for Disease Control will be issuing a contact tracing order requiring airlines to collect current information for each U.S.-bound traveler, including their phone number and email address.”

For those Americans who have not yet received their vaccination, the process will be slightly more complicated. Unvaccinated individuals will be permitted to reenter the country, but will be required to show proof of a negative Coronavirus test within a single day of departure, in order to prevent them from spreading the virus. 

European and British officials lifted travel bans on vaccinated individuals this spring, and the U.S. is finally reciprocating the lifting of their respective travel bans.

Several airlines, specifically those with the highest level of international service, will benefit greatly from this change and policy. American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have all seen a rise in share prices since the White House Announcement on Monday. 

In June of 2021, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Canada announced they would be forming a group to study how to safely reopen international travel. Air traffic headed from the U.S. to Europe this summer was down 61% from 2019, the last year in which these travel restrictions were not enforced. 

This process has been months in the making, and is something the travel industry is desperately looking forward to.  Full details of the White House’s policy have not yet been released, but are expected to be in the upcoming weeks.