If You Do Have To Take International Flights During Covid 19 Times?

Airline companies in United States, and also of the world, are slowly taking to opening up the international routes. They are trying their level best to bring the lives to normal and get on the pre-Covid passenger numbers as soon as possible. For this reason, every effort is being made to ensure that there is a mass public awareness campaign showing what all measures are being taken by them in this respect. These preventive measures hold good for both the domestic and the international flights.

These are efforts of the airline. Even the passengers have some responsibilities to ensure their own safety. Before booking international flight tickets, they shall first check for the requirements of the destination country. Will the destination country allow you to go to your place, whether it is a hotel or private residence? Is there any requirement of mandatory quarantine for 14 days? Do they require production of any certificate to the effect that you are free from Covid 19?

Further, you also need to find out the situation of the destination where you have to go. If you are going to meet a near and dear one, you must speak to them on the situation there. It is only on their positive feedback that you shall draw the plans to go there.

Even when travel cannot be avoided, you must ensure taking a few precautionary measures and following these ardently. At first, wearing a mask is mandatory all through the journey. It is even better if you could wear covering for the eye by way of spectacles and goggles.

Secondly, if possible, avoid going to restrooms at airports. Even though these would be cleaned thoroughly, it is still better to avoid these spaces if possible. 

Thirdly, If you have to sit down on seats at airports for any reason, then please ask the airport service to clean the seat first.

Fourth, we do not recommend you touching any surface whether it is railing, seat armrest or any other.

Fifth, you must carry sanitizer with yourself and clean the hands if you have touched any surface.

Sixth, you must be very cautious and conscious of the fact that your hand shall not touch your face. Though this might seem a difficult task, making a conscious effort not to do it will certainly help.

Seventh, since middle seats cannot remain empty for long, it would be wise to wear a face shield when in flight. That will help in preventing virus infection from other co-passengers. To this end, we believe that airlines might have to make these mandatory in future. Right now, the airlines are seeking directions from the Federal Government to make even mask wearing compulsory. So, face shields is a far cry. But, if individuals want to wear it on their own, there is no reason why airline would deny this.

Eight, since international flights could be medium to long haul ones, they are welcoming passengers to bring their own meals. The airline will have to flexible in this respect and do not expect to earn ancillary revenue through meals for some time.

No Demand for International Flights-Covid 19 Changes Air Travel

Summer vacations used to mean wine tasting in Tuscany, backpacking in Southeast Asia or trips to the Grand Canyon.

But fears that airplanes could be a breeding ground for Covid-19 infections have wreaked havoc on the air travel industry.

“This could take several years before we’re into our new normal of traveling,” said Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.

Last Sunday, fewer than 640,000 passengers flew out of U.S. airports compared with more than 2.6 million travelers a year earlier.

With passenger demand in sharp decline, Delta, United and American parked hundreds of planes and posted their first quarterly losses in more than five years.

To understand the impact of Covid on international flight booking, American Airlines said it expects its second quarter 2020 revenue to be down about 90% versus the second quarter of 2019.

The U.S. airline industry is in turmoil .

″This is the biggest crisis of all, bigger even than 9/11, than SARS and the Great Recession and all of that. Every crisis changes the airline industry, so it’s only reasonable to think that the biggest crisis of all will cause some of the biggest changes of all,” said Seth Kaplan, aviation analyst and principal with Kaplan Research.

To lure panicked travelers back, U.S. carriers have implemented new rules, deep-cleaned planes and waived some fees. Some airlines are also limiting the number of seats they sell.

But analysts argue that even with all the changes, it’s impossible to maintain social distancing rules on airplanes.

U.S. airlines are facing their biggest crisis in a generation and the stakes have never been higher.

United Resumes San Francisco to Shanghai Flights

United Airlines announced today it will resume service to China with twice-weekly flights between San Francisco and Shanghai's Pudong International Airport via Seoul's Incheon International Airport beginning July 8, 2020. United will operate service with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from San Francisco to Shanghai on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Customers traveling from Shanghai will return to San Francisco on Thursdays and Sundays. United flight booking for these flights will begin shortly.
"United's service to mainland China has been a point of pride for our employees and customers for more than 30 years," said Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of International Network and Alliances. "Resuming service to Shanghai from the United States is a significant step in rebuilding our international network."

Flight	Depart	Day	Time	Arrive	Time
UA 857	San Francisco	Weds., Sat.	11:00 a.m.	Shanghai	5:45 p.m.+1 day
UA 858	Shanghai	Thurs., Sun.	9:40 p.m.	San Francisco	8:55 p.m.

Prior to suspending service to Shanghai in February due to COVID-19, United was the largest U.S. carrier serving China and operated five daily flights between Shanghai and its hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York/Newark and has served Shanghai for more than 30 years. In July, across the Pacific, United will also reinstate service between Chicago and Tokyo with the addition of new service to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Additionally, United will resume service to Seoul; restart service to Hong Kong and will fly to Singapore via a stop at Hong Kong.

United To Close Three International Flight Attendant Bases

United Airlines plans to close three of its four foreign flight attendant bases in October as international air travel continues to struggle because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chicago-based airline will close bases in Hong Kong, Tokyo’s Narita airport and Frankfurt, according to a company memo seen by CNBC. United said about 840 flight attendants work in the three bases that are closing.

“This was certainly a very difficult decision to make, and we recognize that closing any base places a hardship on those who live near those locations,” John Slater, United’s senior vice president of inflight services, said in the memo. “In the current and future environment, we simply are not able to sustain an Inflight Base at these locations.”

Flight attendants at those locations will be given the chance to transfer to U.S. bases, depending on work eligibility, the memo said.

United also has a flight attendant base for London’s Heathrow Airport and a base for U.S. territory Guam.

“While no other base changes are anticipated at this time, we’ll continue to evaluate the viability of all locations based on the network schedule, government travel restrictions and restoration of demand,” said Slater.

The United chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents the airline’s roughly 24,000 cabin crew members called the announcement “a shock for all of us” and said “it will create tremendous uncertainty.”

The closure of these bases is likely to result in some employment while it will save the operating costs which are proving to be extra burden on exchequer.

Delta to Begin Flights from U.S. to China

Delta Air Lines will resume flights between the U.S. and China on June 25, operating twice per week between Seattle and Shanghai-Pudong via Seoul-Incheon. Starting in July, Delta will fly once per week from Seattle and Detroit to Shanghai also via Incheon.
Delta is the first U.S. airline to resume U.S. to China routes since flights were stopped in February due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that U.S. airlines have been approved to fly four weekly flights to China, easing a standoff on travel restrictions in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delta requires all travelers to wear face masks for travel, starting with check-in. Face coverings are required in Delta Sky Clubs, boarding gate areas, jet bridges and during the flights, except during meal service. Use is encouraged in security lines and restrooms.
Other safety measures Delta has instituted include:
  Sanitizing all aircraft with electrostatic spraying before departure and pre-flight disinfection of high-touch points.
    Use of air circulation systems with HEPA filters.
    Boarding flights back-to-front, reducing the need for passengers to pass one another.
    Streamlining onboard food and beverage service and encouraging customers to pack their own food and non-alcoholic beverages to decrease touchpoints.
    Blocking middle seats and reducing the number of passengers on each flight. For international flights, Delta is capping seating at 75 percent in Delta One suite and 60 percent in Delta Premium Select and Main Cabin.

US to Open Its Skies To European Travel

U.S. travel will soon be possible for some travelers from Europe says Donald Trump. President Trump says the U.S. plans to “open up” to travelers arriving from low-risk countries in Europe and elsewhere. This means many Europeans may soon be able to plan American vacations or business trips.

Trump’s travel ban has put a block on all travelers coming from 26 European countries as well as the U.K. and Ireland since March 13. Not just European citizens and residents, but anyone who has set foot in those places in the previous fortnight.

Speaking of the new Brazil flight ban on Wednesday, President Trump indicated the Europe travel restrictions will soon ease. At least for some arrivals. Travelers coming from countries with low Covid-19 risk profiles will be given the green light first he hinted.

“Certain announcements on countries including Europe” are to come Trump said. “Where they’re starting to make progress we’ll open it up. But only where they’re making progress ... They’re making some good progress. So are we.”

First unfurled for a 30 day period, then extended indefinitely, the ban has stopped hundreds of thousands of travelers in Europe from visiting America for leisure, work or family reasons. At the same it’s complicated the lives of many people who have a transatlantic existence. Though don’t necessarily have double citizenship or permanent residency.

The idea was to prevent travelers coming into the U.S. from Covid-19 hotspots, which Europe was at the time. Now with travel restrictions across Europe tumbling to make way for summer tourism, it’s only natural the U.S. looks to easing the rules, and rekindling Europe flights.

It won’t necessarily be reciprocal. While Europe’s internal border controls are ending, there is still doubt as to whether the EU’s external borders will open to foreigners on June 15. Given the U.S. is seen as a high-risk country, some European states don’t plan to allow American tourists at the outset as they open up to tourism. Others are yet to give details.

As to the U.K., there’s even talk of Americans dodging the British quarantine on arrival, with a bilateral deal to enable people to travel between the two over coming weeks. The exemption is yet to be announced however, with the quarantine measures starting on June 8.

WhIch Countries Allow You To Come During Summer?

A handful of countries are letting in everyone, while others are inviting only a select few.

Here is a definitive guide to the countries that are now welcoming travelers — or have indicated they will before August.

Do consider:

    We are excluding countries that require a 14-day quarantine upon entering; we assume even those staying at the poshest of places want to occasionally leave their rooms.
    Importantly, this is a list of where you can go — not whether you can ease back into your home country. Americans who have always dreamed of seeing the Maldives can likely do so only if they’ve got the vacation time for a 14-day quarantine upon returning home.
    Nearly all countries have special requirements to enter; some are noted.
    We will update this list as new information is made public.

The Caribbean

Some of the Caribbean’s most famous islands are already open, including Antigua, Jamaica, the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Lucia.
The Bahamas officially reopens its borders on July 1.

On June 15, the Bahamas welcomed yachts and private flights; everyone else can join from July 1. Bermuda is opening its borders to travelers who comply with these measures on July 1. Also on the first day of July, Aruba welcomes residents of Canada, Europe and other Caribbean islands (excluding the Dominican Republic and Haiti); Americans can join on July 10.

Puerto Rico’s borders open on July 15. Travelers to Turks and Caicos will need to wait a little longer; it opens July 22.

Other islands are more commitment-phobic. Keith Mitchell, the prime minister of Grenada, posted on Facebook that the country is considering June 30 as a “possible date for reopening.” The French isle of Saint Martin indicated visitors could come as early as July 1, but nothing official has been announced.

Note: Some islands, including St. Lucia and Bermuda, are requiring negative Covid-19 tests within 48 to 72 hours before departure.
Europe

After a patchwork of internal border announcements in May, the EU announced Wednesday that non-Europeans would be allowed to enter from July 1.

The travel ban will be lifted “gradually and partially,” said European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell. Americans are not expected to make the first cut, instead the Commission recommended lifting travel restrictions for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia first.

Regarding internal borders, Italy and Bulgaria have already reopened their borders to residents of most European countries. Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia have also loosened regulations, albeit to a more restricted list of countries.
Italy has reopened its borders to most European countries but not everyone has returned the gesture.

In mid-June, the continent took a giant leap forward to reopen internally for summer travel. On June 13, Poland reopened its borders to EU nations. On June 15, Germany lifted a travel ban to 31 European countries, Greece to 29 countries (including Australia) and the Netherlands to 12 EU countries. Iceland, Belgium, France and Switzerland opened their borders to all EU and Schengen Area travelers, though travelers from U.K. are subject to a 14-day quarantine in France.

June 15 also marks easing of restrictions among the Nordic countries of Norway, Denmark and Finland. The countries are excluding Sweden, which has taken a more lax approach to contain coronavirus infections.

Spain moved plans to open its borders forward; residents of EU and Schengen Area nations (except for Portugal) can enter starting June 21. The Schengen Area is a group of 26 European countries that includes non-EU countries like Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

A few considerations:

    Until June 30, travelers to Greece arriving from areas of high infection rates (regardless of nationality) must take a Covid-19 test on arrival, stay overnight at a designated hotel and undergo quarantine (seven days for negative tests and 14 for positive results). Thereafter, passengers are subject to random testing.
    Certain parts of southern Italy, including Puglia, Basilicata and Sardinia, require travelers to send health and registration forms before arriving.
    Travelers who are allowed into Iceland can avoid a 14-day quarantine by testing negative for Covid-19 upon arrival at Keflavik International Airport.

Asia

Asia is largely closed to foreign holidaymakers for the time being. Most countries have not announced dates when they will open, though the Indonesian island of Bali is said to be reopening in October.

Rumors that Thailand was opening to international travelers on July 1 were squashed last month when Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said tourists may return in the fourth quarter of the year “at the earliest.”
Opening July 1, the Maldives is allowing travelers in without new visa requirements and fees.
Opening July 1, the Maldives is allowing travelers in without new visa requirements and fees.
amriphoto

So where can you explore in Asia? Private jets and yachts are already welcome in the Maldives, and commercial airlines are scheduled to resume from July 1. After announcing testing and visa protocols, the country appears to be backing off those requirements for now.

On June 17, Taiwan opened its borders, albeit ever so slightly. Short-term business travelers from select Asia Pacific countries can enter (though shortened quarantine requirements still apply). Japan is also allowing select business travelers from Vietnam and Thailand to enter as early as July.

Turkey has indicated it will be welcoming tourists in July, as has the Caucasus nation of Georgia (though who exactly can enter Georgia is unclear).

Sri Lanka is preparing to reopen its borders to all nationalities on Aug. 1, if individuals can produce proof of medical insurance, plan to stay at least five nights, and can show a negative Covid-19 test taken less than 72 hours before departure. Travelers to the “teardrop island” will also undergo a second test upon arrival.
French Polynesia

French Polynesia announced tourists from all countries can arrive from July 15.

The country, which includes Tahiti, Mo’orea and Bora Bora, is requiring travelers to have either a negative Covid-19 test (administered 72 hours before departure) or an “immunity certificate” that proves you’ve recovered from a previous infection. Travelers may be retested during their stay.
North America

Travel to the U.S. is prohibited for some nationalities; all others may be subject to state-mandated quarantines, such as Hawaii’s 14-day quarantine requirement that was extended this week to July 31.

Canada has two-week quarantine requirements too. The border closure for nonessential travel between the U.S. and Canada has been extended through July 21, though it’s reported some Americans are entering via a “loophole” that allows travelers to transit through Canada in order to drive to Alaska.
The Riviera Maya in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo is open to international travelers.

Mexico is opening state by state, and Quintana Roo — home to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Tulum — opened this week. Los Cabos officially reopened on June 15, and flights from major U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago, are scheduled to resume in late June to July.

Mexico’s travel industry has been hindered by a joint agreement between Mexico and the U.S. that restricts nonessential travel until July 21. Mexico has also been named one of seven coronavirus “international hot spots” — a list that also includes the United States.
The Middle East

From Israel to Qatar, much of the Middle East is not open for travel yet.

A trip to Dubai may be possible in the latter half of the summer. It’s reported to be opening sometime between July to September.
Africa

Popular African tourist destinations, such as Morocco and South Africa, have not announced plans to loosen border restrictions yet.

After widespread reports that South Africa wouldn’t open until 2021, the country’s tourism officials clarified this week that this was a “worst-case scenario” and that it hopes to welcome travelers by September.

Last week, the Seychelles opened to tourists arriving on a private jet, chartered flight or yacht. Plans to resume commercial flights are set for July.
Commerical flights are expected to resume to the Seychelles in July.
Commerical flights are expected to resume to the Seychelles in July.
Tunisia is opening land, air and sea borders to residents from Algeria and select European nations, including Germany and the U.K., from June 27.

Tanzania unconditionally welcomed tourists from all nations in May, one of the earliest countries to do so. The country has been criticized for a lack of transparency regarding infection rates, as well as statements by President John Magufuli that the coronavirus could be cured by drinking ginger and lemonade. He also said the virus had been removed from Tanzania “by the powers of God” despite evidence to the contrary.
South America
Much of South America — including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Peru — remains off-limits to international travelers for the time being.

Colombia banned all passenger flights until at least Aug. 31. Argentina has a similar flight ban through Sept.1, though there is talk of bringing this date forward to July.