The US government has confirmed November 8 as the official date that it will lift travel restrictions on fully vaccinated international travelers, reports CNN. The change applies to both land and air travel. Under the new policy, travelers will need to show proof of vaccination prior to boarding a flight to the US as well as negative results from a COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure. A White House official also stated that further guidance on "very limited exceptions" to the requirements, along with other operational details, will be announced in advance of the November 8 date. "CDC has already informed airlines that all FDA approved and authorized vaccines, as well as all vaccines that have an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the WHO will be accepted for air travel. We anticipate the same will be true at the land border," the official said.

The new US travel policy easing restrictions for foreign nationals does not accept those who have recovered from COVID-19 and received one dose of a two-dose vaccine series, a standard that France and the European Commission consider fully vaccinated, reports Bloomberg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detailed that the new travel policy would include “any combination of two doses” from two-shot vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO). A CDC spokeswoman confirmed that people with just one dose would be excluded, regardless of whether they’ve also recovered from COVID-19. This distinction could impact travelers from countries such as France, Greece, and Norway, where recovery from COVID-19, plus one-dose of a vaccine, is defined as fully vaccinated. That standard is also an eligible scenario for the European Union digital COVID-19 certificate, the bloc’s widely accepted vaccine passport.

Hawaiian Governor David Ige has announced the state will reopen to fully vaccinated domestic travelers for non-essential travel beginning on November 1, reports Travel Pulse. Governor Ige previously advised against travel to Hawaii through October, as confirmed cases of COVID-19 surged during the summer. State officials said COVID-19 numbers have declined, while vaccination rates have climbed. “I think we are all encouraged by what we’ve seen over the last several weeks with the continuing trend of lower case counts,” Governor Ige said. “Our hospitals are doing better, and we have fewer COVID patients in them.” Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association CEO Mufi Hannemann said officials from tourism, restaurants, retail, ground and air transportation, labor unions, and chambers of commerce all worked together to advocate for and develop a reopening plan.

Delta Air Lines has announced that it will increase its capacity out of New York City by 25 percent this fall compared with the summer, with 100 additional daily departures out of John F. Kennedy International Airport JFK and LaGuardia Airport. The additional capacity is meant "to meet the significant demand for business and international travel going into next year," stated Joe Esposito, Delta SVP of network planning. This includes "meaningful boosts" in frequencies to Boston, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, and Washington's Reagan National Airport. International capacity will additionally increase in the coming months, with frequencies to London and Paris each doubled to twice a day and service to Dublin increased to daily, starting on December 6. Delta will also resume direct service to Lagos three times per week starting December 7, resume nonstop service to Frankfurt on December 13, and increase service to two daily flights to Tel Aviv on December 18.

United Airlines has announced the largest transatlantic expansion in its history, including 10 new flights and five new destinations. The new routes will be between New York/Newark and Amman, Jordan; Bergen, Norway; Azores, Portugal; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands; all are set to begin in Spring 2022 and are not served by any other North American carrier. "Given our big expectations for a rebound in travel to Europe for summer, this is the right time to leverage our leading global network in new, exciting ways," said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances. Additionally in 2022, United will add new flights to Berlin, Dublin, Milan, Munich, and Rome. They will also relaunch seven routes that were interrupted due to COVID-19: Bangalore, Frankfurt, Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Nice, and Zurich. Click “Read More” for additional details in United’s press release.