Aviation News –
- The U.S. today is finally lifting pandemic travel restrictions that have barred many international visitors from visiting America. The measures were first instated by the Trump administration in March 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19, but were later upheld by President Biden to include more than 30 countries like Brazil, South Africa, the U.K. and much of Europe. The reopening of the border comes with a new set of rules, but is being looked upon as aiding in the economic recovery.
- Fine print: International visitors will have to show proof of vaccination by a jab approved by the FDA or listed by the World Health Organization (including Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca, Covishield, Sinopharm and Sinovac). The U.S. will also require proof of a negative COVID test from within the past three days (rapid antigen and PCR are both accepted). Exceptions include travelers under age 18 and those traveling from countries with low vaccine availability.
- Airlines are celebrating the news, with United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) saying it expects 50% more international inbound passengers on Monday from a week earlier (when it carried 20K people). Delta (NYSE:DAL) also anticipates strong demand over the next few weeks, while American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) forecasts international capacity for November and December to be more than double that of a year ago and down only 28% from 2019. According to airfare-tracking site Hopper, international flight searches to the U.S. have more than quadrupled since the Biden administration announced it would lift the restrictions in September (compare returns of the airlines here).
- Go deeper: The border opening is also likely to drive up revenue for hotels, restaurants and retailers. Global visitors contributed more than $43.4B of shopping in 2019 – or 27% of the total shopping driven by travel and tourism. “The return to the service and the experience economy is going to be positive and beneficial for retail and it’s going to be enhanced furthermore by these international visitors returning to the U.S.,” said CEO Matt Shay of the National Retail Federation.