Airports are scenes of joyous hugs, teary reunions as US reopens its borders after 20 months
America fully reopened to vaccinated international travellers offering a boost to the travel industry decimated by the pandemic
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A woman met her one-year-old grandson for the first time on Monday. Parents and their adult children were reunited for the first time in years, couples shared a first kiss after 18 months of resorting to video chat. These scenes played out across US airports on Monday as the country reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers, ending 18 months of restrictions on residents of dozens of countries. AFP
Reunited relatives hugged as many met for the first time since the coronavirus swept the globe, leaving more than five million people dead and devastating economies. The ban, imposed by then-president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, had become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic. AFP
Under the new rules, fully vaccinated visitors can enter the US after testing negative for COVID-19 within the past three days, the same rule for vaccinated Americans who travel abroad. Unvaccinated Americans and foreign visitors under 18 must test negative within one calendar day of departure. AFP
Travellers arriving at John F Kennedy airport were greeted by applause, balloons and cookies. AFP
Louise Erebara, told AFP that she had not met her only sister and brother-in-law for 730 days and admitted that she would "cry hysterically" on seeing her sister. "It's been terrible not knowing when we were going to see them again due to COVID-19, not knowing if the borders were ever going to open," she was quoted as telling AFP. "Today is the day." AFP
Excitement for this day had been building overseas, with airlines reporting sold-out flights Monday. In London, the historic moment was marked by dual flights from Heathrow as jets from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic took off from parallel runways at 8:30 am., bound for New York’s JFK. AFP
There were lots of prolonged hugs at airports from coast to coast. Natalia Abrahao was lifted up by her fiancé Mark Ogertsehnig as they greeted one another at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. AP
Airlines are preparing for a surge in activity — especially from Europe — after the pandemic and resulting restrictions caused international travel to plunge. The 28 European countries that were barred made up 37 percent of overseas visitors in 2019, according to the US Travel Association. As the reopening takes effect, carriers are increasing flights between the United Kingdom and the US by 21 percent this month over last month, according to data from travel and analytics firm Cirium. AP
Despite fears of long queues, no major issues at airports were flagged in an early morning call between airlines and US government officials. "Today America is open for business. That is our message to the world," US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at Chicago O’Hare airport. AFP
The European Union had hrecommended allowing American travellers into the bloc in June, while visitors from the US have been able to travel to the UK since 28 July. AP