(Adds reaction from Germany, British Airways CEO, White House
context, travel figures)
By David Shepardson and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The United States in
November will re-open air travelers from China, India, Britain
and many other European countries who are fully vaccinated
against COVID-19, the White House said on Monday, rolling back
tough pandemic-related travel restrictions imposed beginning
early last year.
The decision, announced by White House coronavirus response
coordinator Jeff Zients, marked an abrupt about-face for
President Joe Biden's administration, which last week said it
was not the right time to lift any restrictions. The
restrictions had prevented tens of thousands of foreign
nationals from flying to the United States to see family members
and slashed business travel.
The curbs on non-U.S. citizens were first imposed on air
travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald
Trump and then extended to other countries in the following
months, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them.
The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travelers
from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe including
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well
as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and
Brazil. The existing policy had barred non-U.S. citizens who had
been in those countries within 14 days.
Zients did not give a precise start date beyond saying
"early November."
The new policy was announced ahead of the United States
hosting leaders from Britain, India, Japan and Australia at the
White House this week, and Biden making his first speech at the
U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the announcement
"a fantastic boost for business and trade, and great that family
and friends on both sides of the pond can be reunited once
again."
Americans traveling from abroad who are not vaccinated will
need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within a day of
travel and will need to show proof of purchasing a viral test to
be taken after arrival in the United States.
Countries during the pandemic have imposed numerous air
travel restrictions and bans in a bid to slow the spread of
COVID-19. The policies devastated international travel and
tourism and shook the airline industry, which carried out a
series of service cutbacks and employee furloughs.
Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said that
through late August, international air travel was down 43% from
pre-pandemic levels.
British Airways CEO and Chairman Sean Doyle said the news
"marks an historic moment and one which will provide a huge
boost to Global Britain as it emerges from this pandemic."
Shares in British Airways parent IAG were up 11%.
Germany's U.S. ambassador, Emily Haber, welcomed the "Great
news" on Twitter, adding, "Hugely important to promote
people-to-people contacts and transatlantic business."
WHICH VACCINES?
The White House said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) will decide which vaccines qualify,
including if those not approved by U.S. regulators will be
acceptable. Foreign nationals will need to present proof of
vaccination before travel and will not be required to quarantine
upon arrival.
There will be some exceptions to the vaccine policy,
officials said, including for children not yet eligible to be
vaccinated. The new rules do not yet apply to travelers crossing
land borders with Mexico and Canada.
Some Europeans and others on the restricted country list
have been allowed to travel to the United States including
students, journalists and others getting permission from the
State Department.
Zients said the United States is again extending
restrictions that bar non-essential travel through Oct. 21.
Critics have said travel restrictions no longer make sense
because some countries with high COVID-19 rates are not on the
restricted list while some countries on the list have the
pandemic under control.
The U.S. Travel Association trade group previously estimated
that the restrictions, if they ran to the end of the year, would
cost the U.S. economy $325 billion in total losses and 1.1
million jobs.
Airlines heavily lobbied the White House to lift the
restrictions, but failed to get them lifted in time for the
summer travel season. The White House said in July https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-us-will-not-lift-travel-restrictions-citing-delta-variant-official-2021-07-26
it had concerns about the highly infectious coronavirus Delta
variant and a rising number of U.S. COVID-19 cases.
Zients said on Sept. 15 that given the rise of the Delta
variant, it was not the right time to lift any travel
restrictions. Asked on Monday what changed since then, Zients
cited rising global vaccinations, adding: "The new system allows
us to implement strict protocols to prevent the spread of
COVID-19."
Zients said the new system will include collecting contact
tracing data from passengers traveling into the United States to
enable the CDC to contact travelers exposed to COVID-19.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and the
United States have sparred over air services. In addition, Biden
in April added new travel restrictions on India. Biden also
reversed plans by Trump in January to lift restrictions on
European countries.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Andrea Shalal; additional
reporting by Sarah Young Editing by Franklin Paul, Will Dunham
and Heather Timmons)
International Airlines (IAG)
