Is THIS What You've Been Waiting For?

Effective yesterday, June 12, 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) no longer requires air passengers traveling from a foreign country into the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight. This will make travel easier for you when you return from an international trip, and also for foreign guests entering the US from overseas. No more nose-poking!

According to the CDC The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted to a new phase, now that there is lower risk of severe disease and death across the United States. The CDC continues to recommend and encourage travelers boarding a flight to the U.S. to get tested for current infection with a viral test as close to the time of departure as possible (no more than 3 days) and not travel if they are sick. They are also advising testing and self-monitoring for symptoms following travel.

International travelers visiting the U.S. have slightly different requirements than citizens, U.S. nationals and immigrants entering the country. All non-U.S. citizens traveling by air are required to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, with only a few exemptions in place, according to the CDC.

All air passengers heading to the U.S., including citizens returning to the country, are required to provide contact information to airlines in the event travelers need to be notified about exposure to a communicable disease, including COVID-19. Those visiting the U.S. must bring their required documents, such as a passport and any visa or other entry/residency documentation, necessary to enter the country, the CDC said on its website.

This is the news so many have been waiting for! The travel industry has lobbied HARD for this over the past many months. ASTA, the American Society of Travel Advisors, our professional association (of which I am a member) has been engaged in a multi-layered advocacy campaign to get to this point, consistently lobbying Congress and Administration officials, initiating grassroots action, and applying pressure through national and local media. On behalf of everyone in the travel industry, and all my readers, thank you ASTA!!!

The CDC will reevaluate the issue every 90 days and could reinstate the requirement if a troubling new variant of COVID-19 emerges. So stay well!!

‘til next week.