RELATED: Never Do This When Your Flight Is Delayed, Experts Warn. In a press conference on April 5, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients explained that the Biden administration has “no plans” to do away with the pre-departure COVID-testing requirements for travelers heading into the U.S. from abroad—nor even to loosen the rules for such testing. The aviation industry site Paddle Your Own Kanoo first noticed the notable remarks. RELATED: Never Ask for This One Favor on a Plane, Flight Attendants Warn. The Biden administration is under pressure to modify the rules, especially given that other countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia have announced plans to do so. In March, major airlines asked the administration to drop the mask requirement, which is currently set to expire on April 18.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “With the Ba.2 COVID-19 variant on the upswing in Europe and in the U.S., I understand why there may be hesitancy to drop the testing requirement now,” travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt told the travel platform The Points Guy. “However once again, the U.S. is lagging behind some of our European friends in how they approach COVID-19 and travel.” He added that while many European countries have dropped similar mandates for international visitors including for Americans, the U.S.’s failure to do so “not only risks reducing the appeal of the U.S. to international visitors but could reduce Americans’ interest in traveling abroad as well.” RELATED: Never Do This When Eating on a Plane, Flight Attendants Warn. The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rules are clear and comprehensive. “You will need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than one day before you travel by air into the United States,” the rules state. “You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight.” The exception is for people who can prove they recently recovered from the disease and who are traveling with supporting documentation. “You may instead travel with documentation of recovery from COVID-19 (i.e., your positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official stating that you were cleared to travel),” the rules state. RELATED: For more up-to-date information including travel news and advice, sign up for our daily newsletter. The timing of Zients’s remarks on Tuesday could be notable, though. He is imminently leaving his role as White House coronavirus response coordinator. And when leadership changes, there might also be changes to the administration’s approach to dealing with the pandemic’s effects on the travel industry and beyond. RELATED: Never Forget to Do This After Boarding, Flight Attendant Warns.
