Airports host reunions; U.S. lifts pandemic flight ban
For Bay Area, this may be just the shot in the arm the ailing tourism industry needs
The last time Luisa Sasso saw her cousins, they were little kids. When the girls landed at San Francisco International Airport on Monday — the first time they’ve been allowed to visit from El Salvador since the pandemic began — Sasso was shocked by how much they’ve grown.
“It feels so unreal,” the Oakland woman said, after scooping 10-year-old Lizzette and 13-yearold Victoria into tight hugs. “To have them here and have the family here is everything.”
Sasso and her mother, who also came to meet the Avianca Airlines flight at the airport Monday, were used to seeing Victoria and Lizzette at least once a year. It was tough to go so long without a visit, said Sasso.
“I missed you too,” Sasso said, wrapping Lizzette in a bear hug before taking her to get lunch at In-n-out. “You’re so big. You’re bigger than me.”
The international arrivals terminal here, and at airports across the nation, was a scene of celebration Monday as couples, parents and children, friends and coworkers reunited — some for the first time since COVID-19 ended most international travel into the United States. The first flight restrictions were imposed on travel from China in February 2020 and soon expanded to more than 30 countries.
Will this be the shot in the arm that tourist destinations so sorely need?
The head of San Francisco’s travel marketing association called it a red-letter day for this city whose economy is so dependent upon travel dollars.
“November 8th marks the true beginning of our tourism recovery,” said Joe D’alessandro, president
and CEO of San Francisco Travel Association (SF Travel), in a statement, adding that international visitors — more so than domestic ones — are crucial if the city’s hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions are going to rebound.
“They tend to stay longer and spend more,” he explained.
Between now and year’s end, SFO will be able to take advantage of that global appeal, as the airport expects to increase from
28 international carriers to 33.
Excitement for this day has 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 a.m., bound for New York’s JFK. Here, across the pond, SFO welcomed “some of our favourite visitors” with a light-hearted video campaign that featured an English bulldog nosing a soccer ball around a terminal and airport employees waving Union Jack flags.
Of the Bay Area’s three major airports, SFO stands to see the biggest impact from this lifting of restrictions. At both Mineta San Jose and Oakland International, the foreign arrivals are currently limited to flights from Mexico. On Monday, San Jose had two, a Volaris flight from Mexico City and an Alaska Airlines one from Puerto Vallarta. Oakland welcomed four flights.
No matter the departure point, all arriving passengers must provide proof that they are fully vaccinated, plus a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of arrival. (Youths need only test negative.) And vaccines must have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration or, in the case of the Astrazeneca shots, have received emergency authorization by the World Health Organization.
For millions of people around the world who were vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V, China’s Cansino or other shots not approved by the WHO the rules mean getting re-vaccinated or not being able to travel to the U.S.
For others arriving Monday, the trip to the States involved just jumping through some hoops.
Seoul businesswoman Hyunmi Oh, flying to San Francisco for the first time via United, was vaccinated but had to go to the hospital in Korea to get a negative COVID test in English. It was stressful, she said, because the test couldn’t be more than 72 hours before her flight, but the hospital takes time to process the test. She had to work with a short window of opportunity.
And Desmond Van Oostrom, 50, who arrived from Amsterdam, said he booked three different trips to try to see his girlfriend and had to keep rebooking as the rules changed, until he finally made it here Monday on a full Lufthansa flight. It was a hassle to get all the paperwork together to come, but it was smooth sailing through U.S. Customs once he arrived.
Van Oostrom has been chatting with his girlfriend, Leonora Kunz from Stockton, nearly every day since they last saw each other in person about a year ago. But it’s just not the same, he said, putting an arm around Kunz after getting off his flight from Amsterdam.
“Finally,” he said, “I’m here.”