Last edit by: l etoile
10 June 2022 - The Biden administration will on Sunday end a requirement that air travelers to the U.S. undergo Covid-19 tests before departure, according to federal officials.
The testing requirement is set to end June 12 at 12:01 a.m.
CDC Order and FAQ: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html
CDC Order updated 2 December 2021:
All air passengers 2 years or older with a flight departing to the US from a foreign country at or after 12:01am EST (5:01am GMT) on December 6, 2021, are required show a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than 1 day before travel, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days, before they board their flight.
What types of SARS-CoV-2 test are acceptable under the Order?
You must be tested with a viral test that could be either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). Examples of available NAATs for SARS-CoV-2 include but are not restricted to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), transcription-mediated amplification (TMA), nicking enzyme amplification reaction (NEAR), and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA). The test used must be authorized for use by the relevant national authority for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the country where the test is administered. A viral test conducted for U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) personnel, including DOD contractors, dependents, and other U.S. government employees, and tested by a DOD laboratory located in a foreign country also meets the requirements of the Order.
eMed (Abbot BinaxNOW, one of the approved methods) Thread on Flyertalk: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2048940-issues-re-emed-abbot-binaxnow-navica-tests.html
The testing requirement is set to end June 12 at 12:01 a.m.
CDC Order and FAQ: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html
CDC Order updated 2 December 2021:
- If you plan to travel internationally, you will need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States. You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight.
- If you recently recovered from COVID-19, 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).
All air passengers 2 years or older with a flight departing to the US from a foreign country at or after 12:01am EST (5:01am GMT) on December 6, 2021, are required show a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than 1 day before travel, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days, before they board their flight.
What types of SARS-CoV-2 test are acceptable under the Order?
You must be tested with a viral test that could be either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). Examples of available NAATs for SARS-CoV-2 include but are not restricted to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), transcription-mediated amplification (TMA), nicking enzyme amplification reaction (NEAR), and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA). The test used must be authorized for use by the relevant national authority for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the country where the test is administered. A viral test conducted for U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) personnel, including DOD contractors, dependents, and other U.S. government employees, and tested by a DOD laboratory located in a foreign country also meets the requirements of the Order.
eMed (Abbot BinaxNOW, one of the approved methods) Thread on Flyertalk: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2048940-issues-re-emed-abbot-binaxnow-navica-tests.html
US to require air travelers to provide a negative test within 1 day of departure
#1321
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP >3 Million miles,HH Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 2,865
Hello all, I see there are 88 pages of comments here on this topic, and I’ve been scrolling through some of them. I’m traveling to England and would like to know what’s the best way to get my test done there before returning? I’ve seen Qured, but also wondering if a pharmacy might work. Any advice would be appreciated, as well as what to plan for. Will be traveling with two kids.
#1322
Join Date: Jul 2018
Programs: Aadvantage platinum; IHG Spire
Posts: 544
The testing requirement isn’t working wonders to keep additional seats open for me on my very frequent flights from Europe to the US. My Europe-US flights this month and last are more packed to the brim than they have been in at least three years. Unfortunate that is too, as award space/pricing and even regular paid economy class pricing for my Schengen-US flights this summer is worse than it was three years ago for the same flights being booked around the same time.
I’m rather curious how it is that more seats don’t go out empty given Covid infections continue to take place and the test requirement is what it is for these US-bound flights of mine.
I’m rather curious how it is that more seats don’t go out empty given Covid infections continue to take place and the test requirement is what it is for these US-bound flights of mine.
Availability caused by someone testing positive would be pretty last minute - probably even within 24 hours when they take the test to travel in the case of the US.
Also airlines in the UK are cancelling lots of flights, so this will mean remaining flights are busier.
#1323
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAS, MPL
Programs: DL Platinum, 1 MM
Posts: 1,319
Interesting experience yesterday in France for flights to LA. The AF guy at the counter was "sure" you didn't need a test to fly to the US as a US citizen. Didn't even look at my wife's test. At the connection in CDG they required us to fill out a paper form attesting that we had a negative test or recovery, along with some other options. The woman collecting the forms just rolled her eyes and didn't look at the form. There was a pile of forms next to the boarding line, I am almost positive they tossed that after he flight left.
#1324
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sacramento
Programs: UA Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 261
Just flew back to SFO from Munich via Heathrow and can confirm the testing requirement is a bit vague for the airports abroad. Munich didn't know or care since we were connecting through Heathrow. LHR was a cluster with security and immigrations lines either duplicating requests to see vaccination or had no clue.
In the end, we got stickers at passport control and also a second check by the gate agent.
We did the remote Binax tests via video call. Pretty easy but you have to have a stable internet connection since they "watch" the testing process and 15 minute results period
In the end, we got stickers at passport control and also a second check by the gate agent.
We did the remote Binax tests via video call. Pretty easy but you have to have a stable internet connection since they "watch" the testing process and 15 minute results period
#1325
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Orange County, CA (SNA)
Programs: Delta - PM , MM; Hilton - Diamond, Marriott - Peon
Posts: 911
Hello all, I see there are 88 pages of comments here on this topic, and I’ve been scrolling through some of them. I’m traveling to England and would like to know what’s the best way to get my test done there before returning? I’ve seen Qured, but also wondering if a pharmacy might work. Any advice would be appreciated, as well as what to plan for. Will be traveling with two kids.
Last edited by tanglin; Jun 9, 2022 at 10:24 am Reason: Image messed up.
#1326
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,727
Interesting experience yesterday in France for flights to LA. The AF guy at the counter was "sure" you didn't need a test to fly to the US as a US citizen. Didn't even look at my wife's test. At the connection in CDG they required us to fill out a paper form attesting that we had a negative test or recovery, along with some other options. The woman collecting the forms just rolled her eyes and didn't look at the form. There was a pile of forms next to the boarding line, I am almost positive they tossed that after he flight left.
#1327
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: Free checked in bag on UA & DL. Free icecream at Marriott checkin.
Posts: 2,862
Good to know. Until things change, I'm just gonna have all my returning flights from Paris and AF if they keep it laxed. At least in France, it's the only country I could manage being stranded and coerced to stay for however long until my country deems fitting to allow me to return.
#1328
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
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Posts: 100,334
Jha is on CNN (USA) live right now talking about COVID-19, but it's mostly vaccines for kids. I didn't catch the entire interview, but I heard nothing about the test to fly back to the USA requirement. I assume the transcript will be on the CNN website later.
#1329
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,323
Connected CFU-MUC, MUC-ZRH, ZRH-LAX (overnight in MUC). Agent in CFU asked for test or vaccination paperwork. I only handed over the test I received the day before, which she looked over and handed back. I was never asked for anything again beyond that point and have no idea what would have happened if I handed over vaccination documentation instead (I could have technically got tested the following day in MUC, but tests were cheap and easy in CFU). While waiting to board in ZRH, there was a woman at the gate desk being informed that she needed to have a test to board the flight. It was quite a dramatic conversation, and she clearly had no idea about the requirement (or was playing dumb???). I will be very grateful when this absurd requirement is finally shelved, but I seriously doubt that will be happening until the current USA surge passes. My next flight back to the USA will be in early August, and I am starting to fear that I will be needing a test for that flight as well.
#1330
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
Connected CFU-MUC, MUC-ZRH, ZRH-LAX (overnight in MUC). Agent in CFU asked for test or vaccination paperwork. I only handed over the test I received the day before, which she looked over and handed back. I was never asked for anything again beyond that point and have no idea what would have happened if I handed over vaccination documentation instead (I could have technically got tested the following day in MUC, but tests were cheap and easy in CFU). While waiting to board in ZRH, there was a woman at the gate desk being informed that she needed to have a test to board the flight. It was quite a dramatic conversation, and she clearly had no idea about the requirement (or was playing dumb???). I will be very grateful when this absurd requirement is finally shelved, but I seriously doubt that will be happening until the current USA surge passes. My next flight back to the USA will be in early August, and I am starting to fear that I will be needing a test for that flight as well.
Were you asked for the stupid Attestation Form at any point?
#1331
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,103
Some still show up at the airports in the Schengen area clueless about the US testing requirement (and even vaccination requirement for some) and are surprised there is an attestation form.
On my Europe-US flights, I don’t see much of anything opening up between the one calendar day before the flight or on the flight date itself, the dates of greatest relevance to meet the US testing requirement. And my flights are going out fuller than they were in 2019 or before for the routes of long term, frequent relevance to me. Neither the test requirement nor the infection scene seem to be doing me any favors in de-crowding my flights during the testing time “window” period.
Of my last dozen SAS flights to the US this spring, SAS hasn’t even once checked what (if anything) I filled out on handed-in attestation forms. And that’s even as SAS reps didn’t care to check for my test results either for those flights. Some airlines and airline reps abroad — and it’s not just SAS for me — are taking short cuts that fall short of delivering on full compliance with the US testing requirement.
I would think most people travelling now/ this summer booked a while ago (non business travel).
Availability caused by someone testing positive would be pretty last minute - probably even within 24 hours when they take the test to travel in the case of the US.
Also airlines in the UK are cancelling lots of flights, so this will mean remaining flights are busier.
Availability caused by someone testing positive would be pretty last minute - probably even within 24 hours when they take the test to travel in the case of the US.
Also airlines in the UK are cancelling lots of flights, so this will mean remaining flights are busier.
Of my last dozen SAS flights to the US this spring, SAS hasn’t even once checked what (if anything) I filled out on handed-in attestation forms. And that’s even as SAS reps didn’t care to check for my test results either for those flights. Some airlines and airline reps abroad — and it’s not just SAS for me — are taking short cuts that fall short of delivering on full compliance with the US testing requirement.
#1332
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,323
No one asked for the form. I had a copy just in case, but I suspect I would have just confused the agent by trying to hand it over. It really is the most pointless form ever, as it seems like no one ever asks for it. One has to wonder how a person makes it to the gate without being informed of the testing requirement. You would like to think that issue would be sorted out at check-in, but it is quite clear that confusion rules the day when it comes to USA-bound flights. I was just glad the timing of my test was never an issue, since it was dated two days before the USA flight. So many people are getting stranded right now due to positive (or incomplete) tests. I went to a music festival during my trip, and many of the Americans in attendance were completely unaware that there even was a test required to return home. I know of one person who was returning via Canada, but they managed to get selected for a random test upon arrival in YVR.
#1334
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
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Posts: 17,292
Wish they replaced it with a vaccine mandate. Oh well.
#1335
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Radisson Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 3,621
Nice timing. I booked a June 17 flight from Puerto Vallarta to the USA a few months ago and was hoping for the removal of this requirement before then.