The requirement of testing inbound international passengers for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — regardless of vaccination status — will be terminated effective as of Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 12:01 in the morning, which surprised many people as the chance in policy was announced earlier today.
Pre-Departure Testing to Enter the United States Ends
Official confirmation of this change in policy was provided by Kevin Munoz — who is the current assistant press secretary for the White House — in this message at his Twitter account.
US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country
@CDCgov will evaluate its need based on the science and in context of circulating variants
@POTUS work on effective vaccines and treatments critical to this https://t.co/cpdlNfRHbt
— Kevin Munoz (@KMunoz46) June 10, 2022
US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country
@CDCgov will evaluate its need based on the science and in context of circulating variants
@POTUS work on effective vaccines and treatments critical to this
Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive to the reversal in this official policy of testing international passengers for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, which has been in effect since Tuesday, January 26, 2021 — and the policy became more restrictive on Monday, December 6, 2021 when passengers on international flights were required to be tested within one day instead of three days.
Roger Dow — who is the current president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Travel Association — issued the following statement:
“Today marks another huge step forward for the recovery of inbound air travel and the return of international travel to the United States. The Biden administration is to be commended for this action, which will welcome back visitors from around the world and accelerate the recovery of the U.S. travel industry.
“International inbound travel is vitally important to businesses and workers across the country who have struggled to regain losses from this valuable sector. More than half of international travelers in a recent survey pointed to the pre-departure testing requirement as a major deterrent for inbound travel to the U.S.
“Prior to the pandemic, travel was one of our nation’s largest industry exports. The lifting of this requirement will enable the industry to lead the way toward a broader U.S. economic and jobs recovery.
“A new analysis found that repealing the pre-departure testing requirement could bring an additional 5.4 million visitors to the U.S. and an additional $9 billion in travel spending through the remainder of 2022.
“U.S. Travel and our partners advocated tirelessly for months to ensure this requirement would be lifted, pointing to the monumental scientific advancements that have made it possible for us to reach this point. We thank President Biden, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Dr. Ashish Jha and others in the administration for recognizing the immense economic power of travel and its ability to reconnect the U.S. with the global community.”
Nicholas E. Calio — who is the current president and chief executive officer of Airlines for America — issued the following statement:
We are pleased that the pre-departure testing requirement has been eliminated for international air travelers who are eager to visit or return home to the United States. The airline industry appreciates the Administration’s decision to lift the pre-departure testing requirement in accordance with the current epidemiological environment.
Lifting this policy will help encourage and restore air travel to the United States, benefiting communities across the country that rely heavily on travel and tourism to support their local economies. We are eager to welcome the millions of travelers who are ready to come to the U.S. for vacation, business and reunions with loved ones.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of the traveling public and to ensure that air travel policies are guided by science.
Airlines for America is a trade group which represents the commercial aviation industry in the United States; while U.S. Travel Association is the national non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generated $1.5 trillion in economic output and supported 11 million jobs in the year 2020. The mission of U.S. Travel Association is to increase travel to and within the United States.
Greater than 260 entities — which include airlines, airport authorities multinational lodging companies, cruise lines, national associations, convention and visitors bureaus, and companies — had sent a joint open letter to the coronavirus response coordinator of The White House last month asking for the requirement of testing inbound international passengers who have been fully vaccinated to be terminated as soon as possible; and senior leaders from both Airlines for America and U.S. Travel Association had a meeting at the White House on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at which they once again reiterated and stressed the need for the administration to end the pre-departure testing requirement for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus for travelers who are fully vaccinated.
Moreover — in addition to the mayors of Atlanta, Houston, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia who have written and sent their own letters — a bipartisan group of mayors of 38 cities in the United States sent a joint open letter to the coronavirus response coordinator of The White House on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 asking for the requirement of testing inbound international passengers who have been fully vaccinated to be terminated as soon as possible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States is still requiring most passengers who are not citizens of the United States to be vaccinated against the 2019 Novel Coronavirus to travel to the United States.
Final Boarding Call
Some people consider what the administration of Joseph Biden — who is the current president of the United States — is doing is simply suspending the requirement of testing inbound international passengers for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and not eliminating it, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States is expected to reassess the decision within 90 days…
…but complete formal details of this change in policy has not yet been released from The White House or other official channels of the federal government of the United States at the time this article was written.
Frankly, it’s about time, in my opinion — and this change in policy was long, long, lo-o-o-ong overdue…
Photograph ©2018 by Brian Cohen.
