The United States Government announced that the US is opening travel for all vaccinated foreign nationals in November, including those currently impacted by the US travel ban.
The US ban on nonessential travel has been in place since early 2020, starting with China and expanding to visitors from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the 29 regions in the European Schengen region, Iran, Brazil, South Africa and India.
"This vaccination requirement deploys the best tool we have in our arsenal to keep people safe and prevent the spread of the virus. Vaccines continue to show that they're highly effective, including against the delta variant, and the new system allows us to implement strict protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients
Travellers will need to show proof of full vaccination prior to boarding US-bound planes. A COVID-19 test will also continue to be required within three days of departure and proof of negative results must be shown.
Contact Tracing Required
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require airlines to collect and provide passenger information to aid contract tracing.
“In the coming weeks, CDC will be issuing a contact tracing order requiring airlines to collect current information for each US bound traveller, including their phone number and email address,” Zients said.
Welcome Response by Travel Industry
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the decision by the Biden Administration to enable vaccinated travellers to enter the US with a negative COVID-19 test result prior to travel from early November.
“Today’s announcement is a major step forward. Allowing access to the US for those vaccinated will open travel to the US for many who have been locked out for the past 18 months. This is excellent news for families and loved ones who have suffered through the heartache and loneliness of separation. It’s good for the millions of livelihoods in the US that depend on global tourism. And it will boost the economic recovery by enabling some key business travel markets,”
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
British Airways media office mentioned in the hours following reports around the reopening of the US-UK travel corridor this November, British Airways Holidays saw an increase of nearly 700% in searches for holidays to key US destinations compared to the same time last week. These included New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles and Boston.