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Travellers are eager to fly to America again
Flight searches surged after the Biden administration decided to admit vaccinated foreign tourists
FOR 18 MONTHS America’s borders have been shut to foreigners from 33 countries, including Brazil, Britain, China, India and members of the European Union. The ban, which was imposed by Donald Trump when he was president and maintained by his successor, Joe Biden, was not ironclad: those with time and money could spend two weeks in an exempt country—Caribbean islands and Mexico seem to have been popular—then continue to America. This made little epidemiological sense. In recent months many of the countries whose citizens were banned from entering the country had lower rates of covid-19 than exempt ones or, indeed, America.
Soon such hopscotch will no longer be necessary. On September 20th the Biden administration said that, come November, vaccinated travellers will be allowed to enter America provided they test negative for covid-19 within 72 hours of departure. Travellers have already begun plotting their itineraries. According to data from Hopper, a travel app, searches for international flights to America have jumped by 32% since the announcement; searches for round-trip flights from Europe are up by 133%. Trip “watches”—when users ask to be notified about deals—for flights from Europe leapt by 68% on the day of the announcement (see chart). As demand rises, so will fares. During the week before Mr Biden’s announcement, ticket prices were at an all-time low.
For many Europeans, the decision is long overdue. EU members had opened their doors to Americans at the start of summer and were growing tetchy at the lack of reciprocity. “This must not drag on for weeks,” huffed Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, at the start of August. Late last month the EU removed America from its list of safe countries and advised member states to tighten restrictions again.
Airlines will also be pleased. In the second quarter, revenue from transatlantic traffic among the three big American carriers (American, Delta and United) was down by almost 86% from the same period in 2019. Domestic revenue was down by “only” 42%. Routes cut during the pandemic may return. In August, you could fly directly from western Europe to 24 American cities, down from some 44 two years ago.
Leisure trips and family visits will resume first. Business travel, which is more lucrative, will take longer to rebound to pre-pandemic levels—probably not until 2023 or 2024. Elsewhere the recovery is a long way off: many parts of Australia and New Zealand are in lockdown; China remains largely closed to foreign tourists. One-third of the world’s commercial aircraft is still grounded. But for many people, the latest news is a welcome invitation to buckle their seatbelts.