The US reopened its borders to fully vaccinated visitors 4:19
(CNN) - The
United States opens its doors wide to vaccinated international travelers on Monday, welcoming many visitors who have been barred from the country for 20 months.
28-year-old Anna Zwing will fly from Germany to Chicago on Monday to see her boyfriend for the first time in more than two years.
He checked in for his Lufthansa flight in person in Frankfurt on Sunday to make sure his ESTA application and all the new covid documentation he has carefully collected and verified two and three times were in order.
All set, the billing agent assured Zwing and told him to prepare for longer wait times at security Monday.
"My boyfriend and I are very excited and we are counting the hours until we finally meet again! He keeps telling me that he can barely sleep with excitement," Zwing said Sunday via email.
"It's still so surreal to me that it's actually about to happen! So I'll believe it when I land in Chicago."
With new requirements for arrivals by air, land and ferry coming into force, there is likely to be some congestion as the rules are implemented.
"It's going to be a bit bumpy at first, I can assure you," Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said at a travel industry conference in late October.
"There will be lines, unfortunately," he said, citing "an avalanche of travel at the same time."
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Many of Delta's flights arriving Monday will be 100% full with high load factors in the coming weeks, according to Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant.
Delta has seen a 450% increase in international reserves in the six weeks since the US reopening was announced, he said.
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New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (pictured from January 2021) will receive more international flights on Monday.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
International flight arrivals will rise 11% on Monday compared to a similar day in October at Newark Liberty and John F. Kennedy international airports, with 253 flights scheduled to arrive, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The Port Authority expects a gradual increase in those airports over the next two months, with international traffic reaching approximately 75% of November and December 2019 levels, based on current international schedules that are likely to change.
A gradual recovery seems to be on the international air travel charts.
According to figures from aviation analytics company OAG, the number of occupied seats arriving in the US from Europe this December is projected to be about 67% of the December 2019 level.
Airlines are still bringing back employees and aircraft underserved by the pandemic.
Personnel problems, which could be compounded by employee vaccination mandates, have complicated operations for some carriers.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration have also been understaffed and face a looming deadline just before Thanksgiving for federally mandated employee vaccinations.
CBP expects increased wait times at busy land border crossings into Canada and Mexico.
All this to say that preparation and patience will be key for international travelers heading to the US.
Here's what travelers can expect and what to prepare for:
When you get there
The United States is widely open, although there are some state and local restrictions that still apply.
For example, there are mask-wearing mandates in Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico also require masks in indoor public spaces.
In some cities, including New York and San Francisco, there are vaccination requirements for indoor public spaces, including restaurants.
Hawaii, which had some of the strictest entry requirements in the US, will now align itself with the new federal rules for international air travel.
Although capacity restrictions in the state are easing, some limits still exist.
California (with Santa Monica pictured here), New York and Florida are leading destinations for inbound international travelers.
Daniel Slim / AFP via Getty Images
New York, Miami, and Los Angeles can see some of the biggest influx of international visitors.
They are the top destinations of the Hopper travel app for foreign travelers this Christmas season.
Those locations align with customer demand at Trailfinders in the UK, where the US has once again become the travel company's top destination.
New York, California and Florida lead the way on reservations, according to Nikki Davies, director of public relations for Trailfinders.
The United Kingdom will remove the remaining countries from its red list of trips (all are Latin American)
Before going
Getting vaccinated is the key requirement for the vast majority of international travelers hoping to enter the United States.
Youth under 18 years of age are exempt from the vaccination requirement.
CDC has the full list of air travel requirements on its website.
Travelers must meet the CDC criteria to be "fully vaccinated."
Paper and digital documents are accepted.
Airlines are responsible for collecting and verifying this information from air travelers.
There is more information about the documentation on the CDC site.
Visitors to the new Summit One Vanderbilt Observatory in New York ride a glass elevator on October 21.
Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images
For air travel
Air travelers also need a negative covid-19 test.
Proof is required of all fully vaccinated air travelers 2 years of age and older, regardless of nationality.
Passengers must test negative for COVID-19 within three days of the departure of their flight to the United States.
Unvaccinated Americans and a very limited number of unvaccinated international travelers exempted from the vaccination requirement must be tested within one day of leaving for the US.
Many airlines have mobile applications and portals on their websites where vaccine and test information can be processed digitally.
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Most Delta customers on international routes to the US can directly upload and verify their proof of immunization status using the Delta FlyReady tool.
A Delta Air Lines employee works on the departures level at Los Angeles International Airport in August.
Delta will operate 139 flights from international destinations to the US on November 8.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
British Airways' VeriFly mobile digital health pass works on all BA flights to the US, the airline confirmed.
Printed copies are also a good idea.
"I would definitely make sure I have paper copies ... of my passport, vaccination card, and primary credit card, separate from my wallet / purse. And have digital copies of them on my phone and emailed to my account. email in case my phone / purse / backpack / etc is lost or stolen, "said Kathleen Bangs, a former pilot who is a spokesperson for the flight-tracking site FlightAware.
"Proof of who you are, your vaccination status, and the front and back of a credit card can go a long way toward turning the nightmare of losing your documents into a reasonable situation."
Miami (with Ocean Drive in Miami Beach pictured) is among the top three destinations for international travelers on Hopper.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
On land borders
Customs and Border Protection anticipates an increase in travel volumes and wait times at land and ferry crossings and encourages travelers to have their identification and vaccination documents ready.
The agency also encourages travelers to use its CBP One app.
Staffing levels will be at pre-covid levels, according to CBP, but the agency will balance multiple priorities.
"Trade and travel facilitation remains a priority," reads a Department of Homeland Security question and answer session on the new policy.
"However, we cannot compromise national security, which is our primary mission."
Digital and paper documentation are accepted as proof of vaccination, and vaccination cards do not need to be in English.
Travelers should be prepared to attest to their vaccination status and the reason for the trip.
They must also be prepared to show proof of being fully vaccinated, if requested by a CBP agent.
Youth under 18 years of age traveling with vaccinated adults are exempt from the vaccination requirement.
If you received any of these vaccines against covid-19, you can travel to the United States.
Covid testing is not required at land and ferry crossings.
The web of rules and requirements for international travel at the moment is indisputably tangled.
"Just getting on a plane and going somewhere doesn't work anymore," says travel consultant Dave Hershberger of Prestige Travel in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"You have to do the homework".
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