US pressured by airlines to lift Covid testing requirements

Robert Besser
17 May 2022, 10:37 GMT+10

The U.S. airline industry is pressuring the Biden administration to lift a 16-month-old regulation requiring a negative COVID-19 test for nearly all international air passengers entering the country
International U.S. air travel remains down about 15 percent from pre-pandemic levels
According to airline executives, because of concerns they will test positive in a foreign country and then be stranded abroad, many Americans are not traveling internationally

WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. airline industry is pressuring the Biden administration to lift a 16-month-old regulation requiring a negative COVID-19 test for nearly all international air passengers entering the country, with some exceptions.

International U.S. air travel remains down about 15 percent from pre-pandemic levels.

According to airline executives, because of concerns they will test positive in a foreign country and then be stranded abroad, many Americans are not traveling internationally.

Last week, industry group Airlines for America said, according to a survey it conducted, U.S. airlines predict that dropping testing rules would create an additional 4.3 million international passengers and $1.7 billion in incremental revenue, as well as an additional 1.075 million foreign visitors and $2.1 billion in tourist spending.

In a report by Crain's Chicago Business last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said lifting the restrictions would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be confident that "relaxing it would not harm the progress that we've made against the virus," but he did not think pre-departure rules "will be there forever."

Many other countries have eliminated pre-departure testing requirements for vaccinated travelers, including the UK, Germany and Canada.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to North Korea Times.

More Information

74 ℉

Fair in Statesville

International

Section

After removing Columbus statue, Philadelphia sued for return

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and members of the city's historical commission have been sued by a group which ...

Area evacuated as wildfire burns thru Michigan

LANSING, Michigan: Michigan's Department of Natural Resources said by a wildfire in the state has burned through more than 3 ...

Official: airlines industry acting to prevent cancellations

ISTANBUL, Turkey: In an interview with Reuters, Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, (IATA), said airlines are ...

Protesting Texans send migrants to California

SACRAMENTO, California: Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, who had entered the United States through Texas, were transported to California ...

Louisiana park reopens 2 years after being flattened by hurricane

GRAND ISLE STATE PARK, Louisiana: Almost two years after Hurricane Ida struck the barrier island and destroyed most of its ...

Five receive death sentence for allegedly killing six police officers two years ago

YANGON, Myanmar - A regime court sentenced to death five people detained for their alleged involvement in a deadly August ...

Business

Section