The European Union Likely to Reinstate Travel Restrictions on Americans

The updated entry rules will be decided by each member country, but will target non-vaccinated U.S. travelers

Two tourists are seen buying souvenirs at one of the traditional newsstands on La Rambla. The economic balance of the economic sectors that depend on tourism closed in August below expectations due to the persistent mobility restrictions derived from the so-called fifth wave of Covid.
U.S. travel to Europe may be curtailed as soon as this week
Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The European Union is expected to reinstate COVID-related travel restrictions and halt some nonessential travel from the United States, according to CNN.

The European Council, the EU’s governing body, had only recommended ending travel restrictions back in June, but a recent surge in COVID-19 cases has led to a possible return of quarantines and testing requirements from travelers arriving from the U.S. and five other countries. The Council will most likely give its recommendations on Monday.

So, what does this mean for U.S. travelers? According to Forbes, each EU member nation can determine their own rules and restrictions, so that could include quarantines or mandated testing (or worse). Meanwhile, most Europeans still can’t travel to the U.S., a predicament that isn’t likely to change as long as the Delta variant is running rampant.

The changes, however, will reportedly not apply to vaccinated travelers.

This doesn’t seem like it’ll dent much demand in air travel, at least for domestic U.S. passengers. While numbers have declined a bit recently, there were more passengers this past Sunday than on the equivalent day in 2019, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

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