United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby anticipates the next two weeks will be “the busiest the airline has seen since the pandemic began,” reports Forbes. United expects to see over 420,000 travelers a day between now and the new year, keeping in line with the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) travel forecast that 6.4 million people will travel by air December 23 through January 2 – a 184% increase from last year. Kirby noted that while United has seen a fairly significant drop in international travel due to restrictions in response to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the airline “has not experienced an uptick in cancellations on domestic flights […] and ‘demand has not dropped off.’”

Last week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began distributing free at-home COVID-19 test kits at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Miami International Airport (MIA), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), reports USA Today. The rollout of these tests is part of an effort to help travelers comply with the CDC’s recommendation that all air travelers take a COVID-19 test three to five days after arriving in the US. According to CDC spokesperson Caitlin Shockey, following said recommendation is “critical” and will “help identify imported cases of COVID-19 and stop the spread of the virus.”

The CDC has also established active testing programs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), New York area John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Free COVID test kits are expected to be offered in additional airports “soon.”

On December 20, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated an additional eight locations as high-risk, as more than 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents were registered in the last 28 days. According to CNN, the CDC is now advising against travel to Spain, the world’s number two most-visited nation, along with destinations across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East, including Bonaire, Chad, Finland, Gibraltar, Lebanon, Monaco, and San Marino. These places join a number of other countries on the Level 4 list, including Belize, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In total, almost 90 countries were rated Level 4 as of December 20.

Starting December 27, the US State Department will increase passport fees by $20 across the board, reports Travel Weekly. Fees will vary based on age and type of application: