US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering - eff Sunday pm, 12 June

Now that is good news; no more stress about that for now.

Made my morning to see this!!!!

!!!!!!!!

Good news for travelers, for sure.

Not to be too pessimistic but the covid cares about neither borders nor politics and this testing policy may need to be reinstated again in the future.

Now to see if Portugal "reciprocates" !

I wonder how this will affect RS tour policy re: masking and testing positive for covid.

How did you avoid getting sick, Larry? I had something similar several years ago and came down with the worst cold when I got home.

TMI? You should have been sitting next to her. I spent 1/2 the flight slumped against the window as I had a bad night's sleep and I did not realize what was going on other than noting my wife while eating pulled her mask up after every bite. Then we switched seats and found out what was happening. I spent the remainder of the flight cringing into my wife's shoulder. This was the week after the mask rule was forcibly dropped. We were 2 of only a handful of masked passengers. We are basically very healthy, and did our best to avoid this. And I think masks wil be automatic for us on flights no matter the rule.

I’m hoping and praying this is true!! And if it is, it is probably because I broke down and purchased trip interruption/delay insurance insurance last night. 😂

I'm still planning to mask. After the last two years, I'm not sure I will ever get on a plane without one again. I feel like I am hyper-aware of breathing everyone else's respiratory particles. I don't really care what anyone else does or doesn't do; that's the best choice for me.

The stress levels for my September trip just went down a notch. I’ll still use the same precautions, but it is good to know that this hurdle is gone.

Best news for my Friday! So glad I popped in to the Rick Steve's travel blog this morning! Thanks for sharing!

Hot Dog! This was my main worry for our upcoming trip to Germany. We are fully vaxxed and boosted and will wear masks in crowds, but now we can enjoy our trip fully without the worry that we might get stuck for an extra week.

And after I spent a nice chunk of change for a couple of proctored test kits and shipping... Well, this is VERY good news. I'm still going to bring my tests with me, as a "just in case" measure.

@Carol now retired We will be wearing masks as well regardless. Friends and neighbors who are fully vaccinated and boosted got covid in the last month and were still pretty sick. I want to avoid being sick while traveling. That would not be fun.

While this is a relief as far as not having to think about this the whole trip, it also reinforces that my family will be wearing good masks on the plane and inside crowded places (which we were already planning to do). The negative tests really didn’t give me that much confidence after seeing multiple people I know who tested negative for days and assuming they had allergies turn our they did have covid. I would have been more comfortable with masks for everyone on the plane than tests that may or may not be accurate and then people not wearing a mask.

I'm still planning to mask. After the last two years, I'm not sure I will ever get on a plane without one again. I feel like I am hyper-aware of breathing everyone else's respiratory particles.

That's how I feel about doctor's offices now. I went yesterday and wore my mask. Even if it's not covid, maybe it helps me not catch a cold/flu.

Of course, 4 days after I get my BinaxNow proctored tests and dropped $180, still happy that stress is gone.

This is good news. People have been flying domestically without testing all along. Glad it’s a level playing field.

I’m happy to hear this. However, this doesn’t remove all the worry of traveling. I still hate the thought of getting sick on vacation. (I just had Covid and was in bed for three days and tired for three or four more.) And if you get Covid, are you going to get on a plane and expose others? I will definitely mask in the air and indoors as long as this virus is circulating.

However, this doesn’t remove all the worry of traveling

No, one still must evaluate the sensibility of travel, but it removes what to many (me included) was the single greatest concern of being able to return home on time.

I am much more likely to plan a trip to Europe for later in the year than I was before hearing this. I will continue to follow news reports on Covid, new variants, etc., but my odds of taking a trip just went up considerably. YMMV...

Made my morning as well! I was briefly annoyed at the money spent on the Binax tests, but now I'm looking at is as an acceptable tax on being able to worry less about getting home. Whether or not this is wise from the standpoint of containing spread in the U.S. is a topic for another discussion.

That said, and speaking only for myself, if anything, masking is going to be more important. Many travelers are going to be less cautious, knowing the pre-return test isn't hanging over them. Even otherwise very responsible people, who'll continue to mask in museums, on trains, and planes, etc., will inevitably slip up more often. I'm counting myself as likely to be in this category. We're all human.

Also, for those of us on RS tours, or any kind of similar plans, it's going to be no less important to avoid infection--unless that has changed too? I actually almost missed the announcement (a friend texted me about it) because I've been, ironically, busily prepping my tech for travel.

Caroline

Several people here have expressed concern that sick people will now get on the plane - there has been no testing to fly domestically or to get on a flight to Europe. So for months, people have been able to fly without testing - they just couldn't return to the US.

And Caroline, I wouldn't expect RS to change their policy-community responsibility is expected, as we were informed at the beginning of our trip in April. The new policy won't change my behavior on tour, but it sure is nice that we don't have to worry about finding a test on the last day, and we won't have to worry about the possibility of having to stay on for an extra week.

Still planning to mask on planes and crowded areas but sooooooo happy this stress has lifted. Last flight I was on (domestic) 99% of travelers were not masked on 8 hr flight.

Yay! Italy here I come---with my mask on plane for sure!

Woohoo!! I was going to book my proctored tests earlier this week and my gut instinct was to just wait. Well, I'm so glad I did!!!

I have spent months planning this trip to Spain and Portugal and I have spent the last week putting together a Plan B in case we test positive. I'm so relieved!

My brother and sister in law are "stuck" in Rome because they tested positive but have no symptoms. They were crying when they heard the news!

Happy, Happy!

There will likely be symptomatic folks on every flight back home. Yes it’s true they can already fly domestically, but international flights are longer, more people moving around, more restroom usage, etc.

Let me add one thing for those of you traveling after mid September. Part of the announcement today about dropping the requirement was that this policy will be reviewed in 90 days. This could just be a summer appeasement for the travel industry which lobbied hard for the removal of the test.

I hope it doesn't change.

DianeM - Travelers departing the US by air to some countries have had to show proof of negative tests - I was not issued a boarding pass in August until I showed my negative PCR result from a test taken 48 hours before departure from USA (the window was 72 hours) So -again I have an appointment late this afternoon to test at my local pharmacy in order to board a flight to Lisbon. Portugal is still requiring a negative test to enter by air. I will certainly have less anxiety on my flight to Portugal compared to the flight to return to the US in two weeks.

Clarification - EU citizens and those from reciprocal countries (like UK) are allowed entry to Portugal with proof of current vaccination. USA is not a reciprocal nation

But they can reinstate it at anytime.

expected to announce Friday ... according to a senior administration official.

so that's definite? or maybe?

While I welcome this news; it does have some important implications for passengers on an airplane.

The main idea (benefit) of mandatory pre-flight testing is to screen out those who are asymptomatic. These people likely won't know they're infected unless they choose to test themselves; which means one could be sitting next to (or close to) an infected person who also chooses not to wear a mask.

I hope most people will consider taking a free home test before boarding a plane. I for one will also continue to wear my mask onboard the plane.

Edit:
A sensible policy would be to require the test for unvaccinated passengers.

PHEW!!! This removes a giant stressor that was hanging over me like a black cloud. Of course there is still a better than average chance that one of our family of 5 gets sick during our month in Italy. But we are responsible people, all vaxxed & boosted, and will mask on all flights and in crowds & indoor spaces. If we get sick, it will be a huge bummer, but we'll manage - and we certainly won't fly while actively infected. But at least now we're not having to navigate 2 countries' sets of confusing bureaucracies, timelines & regulations. And if one of us catches it on the flight back, at least we'll be sick at home and not in an Airbnb while trying to sort out the arrangements for an undetermined length of time.

That is such great news! Of course our family will continue to mask in crowded places and take the usual precautions because we don’t want to get sick on our vacation ( We all had Covid in March after 3 doses of vaccine, and it was miserable), but this news certainly relieves some of the stress about not being able to return due to a positive test.

A sensible policy would be to require the test for unvaccinated passengers.

This comment by Mindfulness deserves emphasis

This is still a travel forum, folks. The news is important, but I'm seeing more and more that is just commentary on the pandemic. I'm locking the thread.