Going abroad? Nations open, but it’s ‘a very fluid situation’
ATLANTA — International travel destinations are opening up again as the summer travel season shifts into higher gear — but not without hurdles or headaches.
Delta Air Lines is ramping up its schedule of routes to Europe, including starting flights from Atlanta to Athens, Venice, Barcelona and Madrid in July and August.
Most foreign carriers restarted flights in June. Mexico and much of the Caribbean have been welcoming tourists for months.
Tourism is heavily restricted in much of Asia, though. Same for Canada, the United Kingdom and many other destinations.
Would-be international travelers also have to navigate a shifting maze of restrictions as governments around the world try to gauge the spread of COVID-19 variants and whether visitors have been vaccinated.
Countries are reopening, “but it’s not something that’s black and white. It’s a very fluid situation,” said Claire Murdock, a travel specialist at AAA.
There could be one requirement in place today, but “it might change tomorrow,” she said.
By April, international flights at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson had recovered to nearly 50 percent of 2019 levels, compared with a 95 percent plunge a year earlier. But the volume of international passengers was still down nearly 75 percent this spring.
Some countries that have reopened require negative COVID-19 tests to be exempt from quarantines. But the timing of the tests varies — it could be 24, 48 or 72 hours before arrival, depending on the destination. Some countries exempt travelers who are vaccinated, while other countries don’t.
Then there’s the risk of testing positive before returning — and being stuck in a foreign country, unable to fly back home due to U.S. entry restrictions.
European countries with economies that depend heavily on tourism were among the first to reopen their borders — including
Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal and France.
The European Union on June 18 encouraged other member countries to reopen, putting the United States on its list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. The Netherlands last week became the latest to lift its ban on American tourists.
But each of the EU’s 27 member countries has the final say on whether to reopen — and what rules it wants in place.
Germany lifted restrictions on travel from the U.S. on June 20. Last week, though, Chancellor Angela Merkel raised concerns about the Delta variant, saying Europe is “on thin ice,” and pushed for unified quarantine requirements for travelers from countries where the variant is prevalent, according to news reports.
At present, you can fly to Germany without getting tested for COVID-19 if you bring proof of vaccination that complies with German requirements. But in order to fly back home to the United States you must present a negative test taken during the trip.