Coronavirus Updates
Airline updates available! Download our report for the latest changes and adjustments #airlines are making to their operations in different regions: Click here
Click here for information on Airport testing – What you need to know – November 18, 2020
Click here for information on Covid-19 travel bans (updated 10.14.20)
Click here for information on Hotel Cleanliness and Hygiene Programs (updated 10.14.20)
Click here for information on current airline operations (updated 9.2.20)
Click here for airline seat capacity policy (updated 8.28.20)
Click here for rail cleanliness in North America (updated 8.12.20)
Click here for North American mask policies (updated 8.5.20)
Click here for “Know before you go“ – Preparing to travel again
Click here for Getting back to business travel: at the hotel tips
Click here for Getting back to business travel: car rental tips (updated 10.8.20)
Click here for Getting back to business travel: bus and train tips (updated 10.8.20)
Click here for Getting back to business travel: rail tips (updated 10.8.20)
Click here for Getting back to business travel: taxi tips (updated 10.8.20)
TSA’s “Know before you go” Checkpoint Procedures infographic and video.
Last update: January 8, 2021
Week of October 19, 2020
Tuesday, October 20
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance on Monday saying it “strongly recommends appropriate masks be worn by all passengers and by all personnel” operating public transport across the country, including in stations, terminals and airports, to help slow spiraling coronavirus infections.
Read the full story
Week of October 19, 2020
Friday, October 23
Delta Air Lines, along with four other airline partners, extend their seat blocking policies for social distancing through January 2021.
Read the full story
Week of September 28, 2020
Thursday, October 1
UA launches Covid testing program for passengers
Starting October 15, passengers traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii on United Airlines will have the option to take a rapid Covid test. Read the full story: United Hub
Week of August 31, 2020
Tuesday, September 1
Airlines drop most change fees permanently
Delta and American follow United in dropping some change fees. Read the full story: The New York Times
Monday, August 31
Delta to install hand sanitizer stations inside airplane cabins
The airline has added up to five sanitizer stations on each flight in addition to sanitizer stations near boarding doors at airports. Read the full story: USA TODAY
Week of August 24, 2020
Thursday, August 27
AA uses virus-killing coating to keep planes clean
American Airlines has become using a newly-approved surface coating that kills viruses for up to seven days. Read the full story: Lonely Planet
Week of July 27, 2020
Monday, July 27
Marriott requires guests to wear face masks
Effective Monday, July 27, Marriott is requiring that guests wear face coverings in public areas. Read the full story: Hospitality Net
Emirates will cover medical expenses if passengers catch Covid-19
The airline has offered to pay medical expenses and quarantine costs if passengers are diagnosed with Covid-19 during their trip. Read the full story: CNN
Week of July 20, 2020
Friday, July 24
U.S. states have placed restrictions on visitors
Nearly half of the U.S. states have restrictions in place for travelers including mandatory testing and quarantine. Read the full story: The New York Times
Week of July 13, 2020
Monday, July 13
UK lifts some travel restrictions, US travelers must still self quarantine
On Friday, the British government lifted travel restrictions on travelers from 75 countries, but travelers from the US are still required to self quarantine for 14 days after arrival. Read the full story: The Washington Post
Hilton launches new meetings cleanliness program
The hotel chain has expanded its Hilton Cleanstay program to include specific to group gatherings such as sealed meeting rooms and extra sanitization stations. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Week of June 29, 2020
Wednesday, July 1
UA to restore 25,000 flights in August
United Airlines announced it would restore about half of its domestic schedule, as well as some international routes. Read the full story: BTN Travel Management
Monday, June 29
AA to lift capacity caps
Beginning July 1, American Airlines will begin booking flights to capacity. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Week of June 22, 2020
Wednesday, June 24
NY, NJ and CT require travelers from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for two weeks
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut issued a travel advisory Wednesday that requires people arriving from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for 14 days. Read the full story: CNN
Tuesday, June 23
Hotels Add New Meetings Sanitization Protocols
Along with new sanitization standards, several hotel companies are implementing new procedures and safety protocols around their meetings and events. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Week of June 15, 2020
Tuesday, June 16
UA creates travel restriction list for travelers who refuse to wear masks
United Airlines is following new guidelines and preparing to take serious steps, if necessary, to ensure the safety of its passengers and crew. Read the full story: USA Today
Airlines Step Up Enforcement of Mask Requirement
Major U.S. carriers are setting more restrictive policies regarding facial coverings, which include consequences for noncompliance. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Week of June 8, 2020
Wednesday, June 10
United Airlines introduces “Ready-to-Fly” health self-assessment
United is the first major U.S. carrier to implement a health assessment as part of the check-in process. The “Ready-to-Fly” checklist asks customers to confirm they have not experienced COVID-19-related symptoms in the 14 days prior to flying. Read more here: United Airlines
Tuesday, June 9
UA deploys touchless baggage check at additional airports
Effective today, following a successful month-long trial, United has expanded the touchless technology to a total of 220 airports. Read the full story: Travel Weekly
AA increases service and reopens some lounges
As travel demand increases, American is increasing service to both international and domestic destinations and reopening Admirals Club lounges at 10 airports. Read the full story: USA Today
Monday, June 8
BCD Survey: airport and airplane cabin disinfection top list of business traveler concerns
Business travelers weighed in on those items they deem most critical to their safety while traveling. Read the full story: Business Travel News
U.K. quarantine rules begin today
Those entering the U.K. must enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Read on for a full explanation of the new quarantine rules: Simple Flying
Global Entry Enrollments Suspended Until July 6
To help limit their employee’s exposure to COVID-19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the extension of closures at public access enrollment centers. Read the full story: Conde Nast Traveler
Week of June 1, 2020
Friday, June 5
Countries continue with reopening plans
Several countries are lifting more restrictions and moving forward with their phased re-openings. Read the full story: Northstar Meetings Group
Thursday, June 4
Delta extends seating capacity and restrictions through summer
Delta will continue to limit capacity and block middle seats through September 30. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Wednesday, June 3
UA prepares to bring back international flights in July
Due to increases in demand, United will restore service to cities in Asia, Europe and South America. Read the full story: The Points Guy
Monday, June 1
TSA explores passenger self-screening at airports
The Transportation Security Administration is pursuing the development of technology that would allow passengers to screen themselves and avoid contact with TSA agents, similar to self-checkout at the grocery store. Read the full story: Bloomberg Government
Week of May 25, 2020
Thursday, May 28
Airports are exploring ways to make their environments safer
Touchless technology, facial recognition, iris scanning, expanded mobile phone usage and luggage sanitizing may become standards for airports of the future. Read the full story: CNBC
Wednesday, May 27
Delta to provide travelers with safety essentials
Beginning June 5, Delta Air Lines will offer complimentary care kits to travelers upon request. Read the full story: Delta News Hub
Week of May 18, 2020
Thursday, May 21
TSA prepared for summer travelers with updated security procedures
In response to COVID-19, procedure changes rolling out nationwide by mid-June. Read the press release: TSA.gov
Monday, May 18
U.S. travel industry releases “Travel in the New Normal” guidelines
The U.S. Travel Association submitted a detailed document to the White House and state governors detailing guidance for travel businesses to keep customers and employees safe. Read the full story: U.S. Travel Association
Click here to read the entire “Travel in the New Normal document.
Week of May 11, 2020
Friday, May 15
AA offering free name changes to Business Extra accounts
Companies with active Business Extra accounts get one free name change on tickets purchased on or before May 31. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Wednesday, May 13
United updates rebooking policy for full flights
To avoid placing passengers in middle seats, United will allow customers on flights that are expected to be close to full capacity to choose to rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit. Read the full story: The Points Guy
Week of May 4, 2020
GBTA’s advice to postpone hotel RFP process sparks debate
Following a statement by the Global Business Travel Association endorsing postponement of the hotel RFP process until 2021, many spoke out about the flaw in this thinking and offered other perspectives.
Read the full story: Business Travel News
Hotel Industry Issues Safe Stay Guidelines
On Monday, the American Hotel & Lodging Association unveiled guidelines in anticipation of a future surge in travel. Read the full story: USA TODAY
U.S. Travel Association Issues Guidelines for Reopening Travel
As restrictions are beginning to ease around the country, the USTA issues guidelines to assist businesses on how to operate safely in the “new normal.” Read the full story: Northstar Meetings Group
Week of April 27, 2020
Airlines under pressure to require passengers to wear masks
The House transportation committee is urging airlines to require all passengers and crew to adopt mask requirements. Read the full story: Travel Weekly
Jet Blue institutes face mask requirement
Beginning May 4, the airline will require all passengers to wear face masks during travel. Read the full story: Travel Weekly
TSA Response to COVID-19
TSA makes adjustments at security screening checkpoints in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the update: TSA.gov
Southwest implements electrostatic cleaning and disinfecting across its fleet
Read the full story: Southwest
Airbnb launches new protocols for hosts
Following the lead of major hotel chains, Airbnb introduces new cleaning protocols and waiting periods between guest visits. Read the full story: Business Travel News
Week of April 20, 2020
Air Canada is suspending service to the U.S. after their last scheduled flight on April 26 following an extension of border restrictions between the U.S. and Canadian governments. The airline plans to resume flights on May 22 barring another extension of government restrictions. Air Canada was already operating on a significantly reduced schedule with service to only 11 cities in the U.S. Change fees for affected customers will be waived.
SafeDistance technology is being introduced at multiple airports to measure the average distance between people in security lines. Read the full story: PhocusWire
Marriott International plans to use electrostatic sprayers to sanitize guestrooms and public areas. Read the full story: Travel Weekly
Many hotel companies are temporarily relaxing loyalty policies and extending expiration dates for use of points. Read full story: Business Travel News
Week of April 13, 2020
A state-by-state list of travel restrictions
The New York Times has provided a list of the various travel rules in place in all 50 states including updates and restrictions on driving, hotels and restaurants.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/travel/coronavirus-us-travel-driving-restrictions.html
Week of April 6, 2020
In-person passport services available only for qualified emergencies
The State Department has advised they are only offering in-person service at passport agencies or centers for those with a qualified life-and-death emergency and need to travel within 72 hours.
While some acceptance facilities are still accepting new applications, many such as libraries and some post offices are not, so it is best to call ahead. Passport renewals can still be done by mail. In all cases, the State Department recommends waiting until they resume normal operations as there are currently significant delays with processing passports.
Check the State Department website for information on what qualifies as an emergency.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html
Week of March 30, 2020
March 31st:
LinkedIn post – https://lnkd.in/eJ3cN2q
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the new deadline for #REALID enforcement is October 1, 2021.
For now, adults boarding any federally regulated aircraft can continue to use their current driver’s licenses as usual for domestic travel and wait until 2021 to obtain a Real ID-compliant license.
For more information by state, including where to obtain a REAL ID, visit www.dhs.gov/real-id
Week of March 23, 2020
March 24th:
Real ID deadline postponed
To further assist in social distancing efforts, President Trump has delayed the deadline for U.S. citizens to obtain a Real ID. Travelers were initially required to have a Real ID-compliant form of identification by October 1, 2020, in order to board flights in the U.S. A new date has not been announced.
Sources:
https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Government/Real-ID-rollout-postponed-coronavirus
The CDC raises travel alert level for several new countries
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised the travel alert level to Warning Level 3 for several countries including Thailand, South Africa and India, urging Americans to avoid non-essential travel to these destinations due to the spread of the coronavirus. This is the CDC’s highest warning level. Travel notices can be found on the CDC’s website. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices
Florida Governor issues self-quarantine executive order for those arriving from NY area
To limit the spread of COVID-19, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has issued an executive order requiring all travelers arriving from the New York tri-state area to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival.
Source:
More states issue lockdown orders
Several states have now followed in the footsteps of California, Illinois and New York and have placed various shelter-in-place restrictions on their residents. However, the length and scope and vary by state, though all have ordered the closing of non-essential businesses and restricted the number of individuals allowed to gather in one place.
The Wall Street Journal has published a complete list of these states and their restrictions.
Source
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-state-by-state-guide-to-coronavirus-lockdowns-11584749351
The Points Guy Breaks Down Airline Flight Waivers
Due to the severe decrease in demand, airlines continue to cancel flights and significantly reduce schedules. Click here for a list of current U.S. airlines waivers.