Following heavy lobbying from airlines and the travel industry, the Biden administration will eliminate pre-departure COVID-19 international air testing requirements on Sunday at 12:01 a.m.
The Biden administration will announce on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer require pre-departure COVID-19 testing for visitors to the United States, after determining that this requirement is no longer necessary based on science and data.
The CDC will review this decision in 90 days, according to the official.
The announcement comes as the busy summer travel season begins, with airlines already bracing for record demand. Airlines have stated that many Americans are avoiding international travel due to fears of testing positive and becoming stranded abroad.
The CDC has required travellers to test negative within one day of flying to the United States since December, but does not require testing for land border crossings.
‘If there is a need to reinstate a pre-departure testing requirement — including due to a new, concerning variant,’ the official said, ‘CDC will not hesitate to act.’
Many European and other countries have already abandoned testing requirements.
The CDC still requires most non-US citizens to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before travelling to the US.
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