Travel advisories and bans appeared in every country of the world because of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to stop the spread of the virus. The US limited absolutely all nonessential travel and closed its borders with Canada and Mexico. At the same time, in the EU, nonessential travel was banned for a minimum of 30 days, with specialists thinking that this restriction is going to continue for at least one more month after. Simply put, you cannot go wildlife watching or even museum visiting in the following months.
Travel Bans And Advisories
The United States State Department’s travel advisory is now at Level 4, which practically means people should not travel, especially internationally. There is also a country-by-country advisory list on the website of the State Department. Another travel advisory list was posted by the US CDC, which advised all the older people and those at high-risk to avoid travel as much as it is possible.
In Canada, nonessential travel was stopped on March 13. A similar thing happened in the UK, where it is now officially advised that you do not travel to other countries, especially those that are high-risk. In other countries, other nations banned arrivals, suspended visas and closed their borders.
When traveling, you need to be sure that there is no arrival restriction active before you leave. Also, you will need travel insurance because you do not know if the situation is going to evolve by the time you reach your destination. New restrictions could easily appear.
Flights Are Being Canceled
Airlines reacted fast and did all they could in order to adapt their operations to the current travel bans. They also had to adapt to the huge demand drop that appeared on a global scale. For instance, American Airlines suspended many international flights, until May 6. International capacity was reduced by 75% when compared to last year.
United Airlines improved its safety measures and rebooked waivers. Delta Air Lines changed its fees and many other carriers implemented flexible rebooking policies and changes.
At a global rate, airlines slashed their flights and service to the hard-hit countries like Italy and China was suspended. Domestic service was also slashed.
Those that have upcoming bookings need to check the information offered by airlines to see what changes appeared and what they should do.
Traveler Hygiene Changes
Sanitation efforts were bumped up by airlines in an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus. For instance, Delta Air Lines is now using a special fogging technique that was proven to be highly effective on all flights that arrive in the US from Asia and other regions affected.
Besides what the airlines did, every single traveler is responsible for doing all that is possible to guarantee a lower spread of the virus. This includes disinfecting everything that you touch before you touch it and wearing adequate safety items all the time.
You need to sanitize or wash hands as often as you can but especially after touching surfaces in planes, airports and other public transportation methods.
