After almost two years of restrictions that separated families from their loved ones and cost the global tourism industry several billion kroner, the United States is now ready to open its doors again.
Since March 2020, the borders with the United States have been closed when then-President Donald Trump in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus closed entries from a number of countries. It was also continued by President Joe Biden.
The closure of the borders was not well received in Europe, but now it is reversing.
Today, the first planes took off from several European countries with their snouts facing the United States. At the airport in Frankfurt, several of the planes were full of tourists.
– We are going to New York and the atmosphere is great. We have been looking forward to this since January, it is definitely time for them to relax the entry restrictions, says passenger Sandra Strubel.
The pandemic has also put an end to families who have lived in different countries. The Schoeller family has experienced this.
– We will visit our daughter and granddaughter, we have been waiting for that for two years. We are a little nervous because it is very full at the airport in Frankfurt, but we are vaccinated, says Erich Schoeller.
The reopening applies to air travelers from 33 countries, including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe, the White House said last week.
Will strengthen the economy
US authorities hope the reopening can breathe new life into the tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the corona pandemic.
– The booking situation is great, says Klaus Froese, who is responsible for Lufthansa’s flight operations in Frankfurt, to Reuters.
Half of all long-haul flights operated by Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines have the United States as their destination at normal times.
– We will fly fully until the summer, because there is demand and I am sure that we will soon return to the numbers we had before the pandemic, Froese says.
During the last 20 months, travel to the United States has only been allowed in very exceptional cases due to the pandemic and the closure has resulted in huge losses for large cities such as New York.
Still some action
All adults traveling to the United States must be fully vaccinated, and travelers must also show a negative corona test before they are allowed to board the plane.
For children, there are some exceptions. Children under the age of 18 do not have to show a corona certificate, but must show a negative corona test that is not older than 72 hours. Children under the age of 2 are exempt from the test requirement.
Fully vaccinated will not be quarantined on arrival, but will still have to rely on testing and infection tracing.
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