New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that domestic travelers to New York State who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 will no longer be required to quarantine or "test out" of quarantine upon arrival in the 90 days following their full vaccination. Beyond the 90 days, travelers would still have to quarantine and test out. This is a relaxation to the New York State COVID-19 Travel Advisory which required travelers from noncontiguous states and territories to quarantine for ten days upon arrival, or obtain two negative tests within the time period provided in the travel advisory. Governor Cuomo also stated that international travelers arriving in New York must continue to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel and quarantine guidance, whether or not they are vaccinated. Currently, the CDC requires that all international travelers produce a negative COVID-19 test within three days prior to departure, and recommends that all travelers quarantine for at least ten days upon arrival in the United States, or seven days if they test negative 3-5 days after arrival. New York State requires international travelers from CDC Level 2 or higher countries quarantine for ten days or produce two negative tests.

Travelers departing abroad from the United Kingdom now need to complete a new travel declaration form before boarding a flight to prove their trip is allowed under the country's stay-at-home restrictions, reports Travel + Leisure. Travelers must download the travel declaration form online, sign it before their flight and bring either a paper or electronic copy with them. The airline will check the forms at the check-in counter or before boarding and can turn travelers away who don't have the proper paperwork. Travelers also have to include a legally permitted reason for their trip such as work, education, medical, weddings or funerals. Those who are caught without the form could face a £200 fine (about $277). The form applies to people traveling outside the UK from England. There are different rules for international travel from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For travelers flying into the UK from abroad, they are required to either get tested prior to arrival and quarantine for several days before getting tested twice again, or quarantine in a hotel, depending on where they are coming from. Those who are subject to a hotel quarantine face up to 10 years in prison and a fine for non-compliance.

Airline technology provider SITA has acknowledged that it was hit last month by a "highly sophisticated" cyberattack targeting passenger data in its Passenger Service System servers, which serves multiple airlines, reports Business Travel News. SITA statement did not detail what sort of data was targeted or stolen during the attack, which hit its US servers on February 24, but said it "initiated targeted containment measures" and "took immediate action to contact affected SITA PSS customers and all related organizations." The incident remains under investigation, according to SITA. While SITA has not disclosed which airlines' data were affected, some carriers have issued their own statements about the breach. American Airlines said the breach involved "a limited amount of AAdvantage loyalty data," and like the other carriers, said it did not include passwords or financial information. The carrier has notified members who were affected by email, according to the statement. United Airlines also sent a note to customers encouraging them to change MileagePlus passwords "out of an abundance of caution," though the carrier said no passwords, personal information or other sensitive data was accessed beyond names, MileagePlus numbers and Star Alliance status. Delta Air Lines said there has been no indication of exposure to the carrier.

Leading airline and business groups are asking the Biden administration to develop temporary credentials that would let travelers show they have been tested and vaccinated for COVID-19, a step that the airline industry believes will help revive travel, reports Travel Weekly. Various groups and countries are working on developing so-called vaccine passports aimed at allowing more travel. But airlines fear that a smattering of regional credentials will cause confusion and none will be widely accepted. "It is crucial to establish uniform guidance" and "the US must be a leader in this development," more than two dozen groups said in a letter Monday to White House coronavirus-response coordinator Jeff Zients. However, the groups said that vaccination should not be a requirement for domestic or international travel. The World Health Organization and the United Nations' aviation arm are working on the type of information to include in a credential. The airline industry groups are particularly interested in having the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) take a leading role, believing that would increase certainty that information in the credentials is legitimate.

CEO Paul Metselaar was recently featured in a Washington Post story detailing the effects of COVID-19 on travel and what lies ahead for the future of the travel industry. Paul says Americans view travel as a necessity after a year of lockdowns, “not just for business purposes, but for living our lives to the fullest. Each journey enables us to discover other people, other cultures and more about ourselves.” Click "Read More" below to read the full story.