The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it is extending the REAL ID deadline by 19 months, from October 1, 2021, to May 3, 2023, due to circumstances resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the DHS, COVID-19 has impacted states’ ability to issue REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards, with many driver’s licensing agencies still operating at limited capacity.

Beginning May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another TSA-acceptable form of identification at airport security checkpoints for domestic air travel. All 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and four of five US territories covered by the REAL ID Act and related regulations are now compliant with REAL ID security standards and are issuing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. However, many state licensing agencies have extended the deadline for renewing expiring licenses due to a widespread shift to appointment-only scheduling protocols during the pandemic that has significantly limited states’ capacity to issue REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. As a result, only 43 percent of all state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards are currently REAL ID-compliant.

Americans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to visit the European Union (EU) over the summer, reports The New York Times. In a recent interview, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the bloc would switch policy, under certain conditions, after more than a year of mostly banning nonessential travel. “The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” she said. “This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union." Ms. von der Leyen noted that the United States was “on track” and making “huge progress” with its campaign to reach so-called herd immunity, or the vaccination of 70 percent of adults, by mid-June. She added that resumption of travel would depend “on the epidemiological situation, but the situation is improving in the US, as it is, hopefully, also improving in the European Union.” Technical discussions have been going on for several weeks between EU and US officials on how to practically and technologically make vaccine certificates from each place broadly readable so that citizens can use them to travel without restrictions. These discussions are continuing, and it is possible that a low-tech solution would be used in the near future to enable people to travel freely on the basis of vaccination. Ms. von der Leyen did not offer a timeline on when exactly tourist travel might open up or details on how it would occur.

Delta Air Lines has announced that is resuming service to Athens, becoming the first US carrier to do so after Greece announced that it is open with no quarantine requirement for vaccinated travelers or those with a negative PCR test. Starting May 28, Delta will resume non-stop service to Athens International Airport (ATH) from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). On July 2, the carrier will also launch new daily nonstop service between ATH and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Travelers flying with Delta to Athens will not be required to quarantine as long as they present a vaccination certificate or negative COVID-19 test issued up to 72 hours before arrival.

American Airlines has announced that it is expanding its service in New York and Boston as a result of the Northeast Alliance with JetBlue. American intends to introduce new service from Boston (BOS) to Cincinnati (CVG), St. Louis (STL) and Toronto (YYZ) as part of its effort within the Northeast Alliance to provide additional options for travelers in the Northeast. Under the Northeast Alliance, American and JetBlue will serve 46 of the top 50 markets from Boston, and enable new service from New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to nine new markets.

Additionally, American will launch nonstop service from New York (JFK) to New Delhi (DEL) beginning October 31. The carrier will offer non-stop flights three times per week, and then daily during the holiday peak from November 17 to January 3.

United Airlines has announced that it is adding over 480 daily domestic flights in June, offering an average of over 3,100 total daily domestic flights to more than 240 US destinations. This includes the addition of new flights to Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana. United will add nine brand-new routes in June, including daily flights from Denver to West Yellowstone, Montana – the closest airport to Yellowstone National Park. In addition, United plans to add two new direct flights to Hawaii – from Chicago to Kona, and from New York/Newark to Maui. And as peak travel season to Alaska resumes, United will restart service from Chicago to Fairbanks and from Chicago, Houston, New York/Newark, and San Francisco to Anchorage. United will also introduce brand new service between Fairbanks and Anchorage in June.

Travelers will soon be able to get rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) COVID-19 tests at more than a dozen US airports, reports Travel Weekly. The onset of rapid PCR tests has the potential to ease the way for travel to Hawaii and a variety of foreign countries that do not accept antigen test results. PCR tests offering results in less than hour are already available at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for $199. A broader rollout of rapid PCR tests is underway by XpresCheck, an airport testing brand developed by the airport wellness company XpresSpa. XpresCheck has already deployed the rapid Accula PCR test of Thermo Fisher Scientific at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). In addition, two XpresCheck locations each in Boston and Newark airports, as well as XpresCheck locations in Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC will offer rapid PRC tests by May 1. Tests are $225 at JFK and $250 at the other locations. The tests are accepted by Hawaii's Trusted Testing Partner program. Results are promised within 30 minutes.