JULY 1, 2020
OVATION OFFERS TRAVEL INFORMATION AND TRAVELER HEALTH & SAFETY RESOURCES REGARDING COVID-19


At Ovation, we remain committed to providing excellent service to our valued clients throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic. Click the links below to view our travel information and traveler health and safety resources regarding COVID-19.

Ovation Travel Group invites travel managers, travel buyers, procurement and administrators to join our webinar on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 12:00pm EST. Hear from top travel suppliers (airline, hotel and car rental) as they discuss their health, safety and cleanliness protocols as business travel returns.

What travelers can expect when getting back on the road and the cleanliness procedures presented by:

Delta Air Lines
  • Check-in, bag drop, security
  • At the gate and boarding
  • On board and at your seat
Hyatt Hotels
  • Check-in and checkout
  • Food & beverage
  • Housekeeping and room service
Enterprise Holdings - Enterprise, National and Alamo 
  • Vehicle cleanliness
  • Curbside rentals
  • Shuttle bus protocols

Please click "READ MORE" below to register for the event.

Both American Airlines and United Airlines will fill flights to full capacity starting July 1st, reports Travel + Leisure. American Airlines announcement reverses the airline’s decision to limit flights to 85 percent capacity, a policy that had been in place since April. Once onboard, American will allow passengers to move to a different seat within their ticketed cabin if it’s available. As for United, a representative for the airline said it would continue its policy of notifying travelers 24 hours before their flight if it is likely to be full and allowing them to either rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit. Conversely, some US airlines have extended policies that limit onboard seating. Delta Air Lines will extend caps on seating and blocking middle seats through September 30th, limiting seating in the main cabin to no more than 60 percent. Southwest will keep middle seats open through at least September 30th, and Alaska Airlines will do the same through July 31st.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency under Homeland Security has announced that it will begin opening enrollment centers again starting July 6th, reports USA Today. The Global Entry program, which has been shut down since March 19th amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enables international travelers to re-enter the United States on an expedited basis. Beginning July 6th, conditionally approved applicants for Global Entry applicants will be able to complete in-person interviews, scheduled in advance, at Trusted Traveler Program enrollment centers, according to a Customs and Border Patrol release. Both enrollment center personnel and applicants will be required to wear protective masks at all times. Sign-in sheets and other touch points have been eliminated, seating has been reduced in the waiting area along with other social distancing measures. The agency also said that protective plexiglass barriers have been placed at the service counter, and they will increase the cleaning frequency of the fingerprint surfaces in the enrollment centers.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have doubled the number of states for incoming travelers to undertake a 14-day quarantine, reports ABC Eyewitness News NY. Eight states have recently been added to the list that now stands at 16, including California, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee. The other states on that list were announced last Wednesday are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have said that the list of quarantine states will be continuously updated as necessary. Under the travel advisory, individuals traveling to or returning to the Tri-State Area from states with increasing rates of COVID-19 are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days. This includes travel by train, bus, car, plane and any other method of transportation, officials said. The self-quarantine is voluntary, but compliance is expected. According to officials, the advisory does not apply to any individual passing through designated states for a limited duration through the course of travel. Examples include: stopping at rest stops for vehicles, buses, and/or trains; or layovers for air travel, bus travel or train travel. Additionally, individuals who are traveling to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut from impacted states for business are exempt.

As states continue to open back up, some still require travelers to self-quarantine or present a negative COVID-19 test when visiting, reports USA Today. Some states are discouraging interstate travel by requiring or recommending that visitors and residents returning from other states quarantine, while others are requiring a recent, negative COVID-19 test in lieu of a blanket quarantine policy. Additionally, some counties or municipalities have issued similar advice to travelers. States that require or recommend traveler quarantines include Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Click "READ MORE" below for details regarding each state's travel restrictions.

Due to a new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirement, CLEAR has updated its policy regarding the way members' names appear on boarding passes. CLEAR members are now required to match the name on their boarding pass with the name on their CLEAR account. To ensure that travelers have the same effortless experience in the CLEAR Lane, members should update the name listed in their airline profile(s) to match their name with CLEAR, if it doesn't already. This includes middle names, initials and suffixes (e.g. Junior or Jr.). Travelers should also be sure to use their exact CLEAR name for any ticket purchases moving forward. Alternatively, travelers can update their CLEAR name at any of CLEAR's airport locations. To do so, travelers should bring an ID displaying the name as they would like it to appear with CLEAR, and one of CLEAR's Ambassadors will re-scan and update it. Click "READ MORE" to visit CLEAR's FAQ page for more information.

Some US airlines are extending their deadlines to waive change fees, reports Yahoo. Alaska Airlines, Delta and United have extended the waive change fee deadline to July 31, 2020, while American Airlines has extended their deadline to September 30, 2020. Since the pandemic began, airlines have been allowing travelers to rebook their flights for future travel for up to two years from their original travel date and waiving the associated fee as a one-time consideration, depending on when flights were purchased.

Airlines for America (A4A) said member carriers supporting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in conducting public and employee temperature screenings would offer ticket refunds to those impacted by the action, reports Transportation Today. A4A said carriers have agreed to voluntarily pledge to refund tickets for any traveler who is found to have an elevated temperature, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, during a screening process conducted by federal authorities before travel. The effort serves as one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC amid the COVID-19 pandemic, adding an extra layer of protection for travelers as well as airline and airport employees.

Delta Air Lines has announced that it is extending its partnership with Mayo Clinic, a global leader in serious and complex medical care, to provide additional safety and COVID-19 infection control measures for travelers and employees. The collaboration is another step in Delta’s efforts to build upon its foundation of care and cleanliness, known as the Delta CareStandard, to mitigate the risk of transmitting COVID-19 during travel. “There’s nothing more important than the health and safety of our people and our customers. As we continue adjusting our business to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, there’s no organization in the world better equipped than the Mayo Clinic to act as Delta’s medical advisor,” said Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines. “The role Mayo will play in testing our employees and advising on safety practices at airports and work spaces will help deliver the additional layers of protection needed to safeguard our customers and employees."

American Airlines has announced that it will adjust its long-haul international schedule for winter 2020 through summer 2021. In an effort to match low demand resulting from the COVID-19, the airline will realign its network with the goal of improving long-term profitability. “COVID-19 has forced us to reevaluate our network,” said American’s Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja. “American will have a significantly smaller international network in the year ahead, but we are using this opportunity to hit reset and create a network using the strength of our strategic hubs that we can build and grow upon and be profitable on in this new environment.” Click "READ MORE" below for the full list of American's updated international schedule.

Major US airlines have announced that they will require travelers to make three “health acknowledgments” to fly during the current pandemic, reports Transportation Today. Members of Airlines for America (A4A), including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines will require travelers to complete a health acknowledgment during the check-in process. The acknowledgments include assurances that the traveler will bring a face covering and wear it at the airport, on the jet bridge and the aircraft; that the traveler is not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, including coughing, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, chills, muscle pain, sore throat or fever; and that the traveler has not had close contact with someone who has tested positive or had symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days. Travelers who fail to provide the health acknowledgment or refuse to complete one may be deemed unfit to travel.

Airports Council International (ACI) World has released its Smart Security Vision 2040, offering its vision for seamless airport security screening operations in the post-COVID-19 era, reports Airport-Technology. The vision follows the organization's Smart Security program that brings together a coalition of airports, regulators and airlines. ACI World’s vision for the future of airport security explores several long-term trends affecting aviation and airports while considering the current economic context created by the pandemic. The Smart Security vision also includes innovations such as artificial intelligence and the increasing use of big data and stand-off detection to promote a more seamless approach to airport security screening. These innovations have the potential to radically transform the way that travelers and baggage are screened, ACI World noted.