The European Union (EU) has decided to add the United States to its safe travel list, after the 27 EU ambassadors recommended that the region allow nonessential travelers from eight new countries and territories, reports CNBC. The recommendation is non-binding, and national governments have authority to require test results or vaccination records and to set other entry conditions; however, this decision makes it possible for American travelers to visit with only needing to provide a negative COVID-19 test while avoiding quarantine. It is now up to the individual EU countries to decide how they will implement the guidelines and allow tourists to enter, and travelers should confirm the rules on their intended destination before flying. Several EU countries have already begun using the system, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the Czech Republic. The recommendations are expected to be formalized by the end of this week, with the rest of the EU nations implementing the system by the beginning of next month.

Now that the EU has agreed to an easing of travel restrictions, airlines have renewed their calls on Britain to restart international travel, reports Reuters. The airlines are pleading with the government to allow people vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel freely with the peak summer season just weeks away and Europe beginning to open up. "The UK will get left behind because I do see Europe actually moving at a quicker pace to open up," British Airways Chief Executive Sean Doyle said at an online conference. "We should be acknowledging that vaccinated travelers have an inherently lower risk when they travel than those who don't," he said. "It's crazy not to try and reap that dividend." The US and EU countries are currently on Britain's amber list, which means if people visit they still have to self-isolate upon their return, even if they have been fully vaccinated.

As travel continues to open up for Americans, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 2.02 million travelers on Friday at US airports, the highest number since March 2020, reports Skift. “The growing number of travelers demonstrates this country’s resilience and the high level of confidence in COVID-19 counter measures, to include ready access to vaccines,” said Darby LaJoye, a senior TSA official, in a statement. Still, Friday’s demand is still just 74% of pre-pandemic air travel on the equivalent day in June 2019, when 2.7 million travelers were screened. US air travel demand has been rising steadily for months as more Americans get vaccinated, and it should continue to see an upward trend now that the EU has added the US to its safe travel list and the Biden administration continues to work with UK, Canada, and Mexico to relax travel restrictions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer require fully vaccinated travelers to wear a face mask in outdoor areas of transportation conveyances like a ferry deck or on an open-air trolley or while they're outdoors at transportation hubs such as airports, train stations, and bus terminals, reports Travel Pulse. The new guidance comes one month after the CDC announced that people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors in many cases. Travelers, regardless of vaccination status, are still required to wear face masks while on public transportation, including airplanes traveling into, within or out of the United States and US territories and while indoors at airports, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has extended the federal mask mandate until September.

Travelers will once again be able to access airport lounges, as many domestic lounges gradually reopen over the summer as travel restrictions ease, reports Travel Weekly. Among the big three US carriers, Delta has reopened the most lounges, with 47 of 52 Sky Clubs allowing travelers back in. American is operating 27 of its 42 domestic network Admirals Club lounges across 21 cities and has also reopened lounges in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, while United has 11 United Club lounges open, including at least one in each of its eight hubs of Chicago O'Hare, Newark, Washington Dulles, Houston Bush, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and Guam, plus the Honolulu United Club. Lounges throughout the US are still required to enforce the federal mask mandate for airports except when customers are eating and drinking. Service protocols have also been altered, as many lounges are moving away from traditional services such as buffets and print media and now offering table service via QR codes and digital access to newspapers and magazines.