Facebook and Instagram may have been down on Monday, but Twitter was there for airports to share news and fun tidbits. Here are some items that caught our attention.
Please get with the program so you can travel safely. Many airports around the country make it easy to get the jab.
(This is a slightly different version of a story we wrote for NBC News)
Summer travel was the big bounce-back story for 2021, with Covid-weary American travelers spending $6 billion on domestic flights in June alone.
The delta variant of the coronavirus rapidly changed all that.
Domestic online flight bookings in July fell to $5.26 billion, a 13 percent decline from the previous month and 16 percent below 2019 levels, according to data from Adobeâs Digital Economy Index.
August numbers are falling even faster: In just the first three weeks of the month, August 1-21, $2.9 billion was spent online for domestic flights. Thatâs 33 percent below the same period in 2019.
The numbers show that âU.S. consumers are taking the Delta variant seriously and once again shifting their travel plans,â said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. âAt the current rate, we expect spend in the month of August to be significantly under July.â
Reports from other parts of the travel industry tell the same story.
American Airlines said last week that August revenue was coming in lower than expected because Covid cases were driving down bookings. Other airlines, including Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit, have issued similar warnings.
A recent survey of 1,000 American travelers by Longwoods International market research company showed that almost two-thirds of travelers surveyed said they are changing their trip plans because of the coronavirus, up from 43 percent two months ago.
In addition to travelers changing plans, Longwoods found that 36 percent of American travelers surveyed said they have postponed travel to either later this year or early next year, because of the delta variant. That is up 24 percent from just one month ago.
âThe summer travel boom is at risk of stalling out as we move into fall,â said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.
Fueling the drop-off is news that Hawaii’s governor is asking visitors not to travel the state right now and more cities are bringing back their mask mandates and requiring proof of Covid vaccinations to enter dining and entertainment venues.
âThe late-summer drop-off in new flight bookings is happening sooner and sharper right now than it had pre-pandemic,â said Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights.
But Keyes says there is a silver lining. âThis softening in new travel purchases is driving airlines to put their thumb on the scale and spur new bookings by slashing airfares to entice travel bargain hunters,â he said. âAirlines are also offering free flexibility to basic economy ticket holders for the rest of 2021, as United and Delta recently announced.â
Looking ahead to Labor Day holiday weekend, domestic flight bookings are down 16 percent compared to Labor Day weekend 2019, according to Adobe.
Many travelers may choose to drive this holiday weekend, feeling safer in a private vehicle than on a plane or other form of public transportation. And while last year’s Labor Day weekend gas prices were the lowest since 2004, this year’s prices at the pump are expected to average $3.11 per gallon. Thatâs the highest since the summer of 2014, according to fuel savings platform GasBuddy.
âFor the most part, people who were planning to travel are still taking their trips, while being mindful to take important safety precautions to protect themselves and others,â said Julie Hall, a spokesperson for AAA. âBut with a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, itâs important that travelers remain informed and be flexible.
[This is a slightly different version of a story we wrote for NBC News]
International travel is back on the agenda this summer for millions of Americans who have completed their COVID-19 vaccination regime.
But with some countries fully open to U.S. travelers â and many still not â the challenge now is figuring out when and where it is possible to go. And what restrictions may be in place when you arrive and when you head back home.
âFor the summer, the countries that have already posted their border openings are the most likely bets.â says Misty Belles, Managing Director at luxury travel network Virtuoso. âMany vacationers are already able to visit Mexico and many parts of the Caribbean,â as well as Greece, Iceland, Croatia, Turkey, and some other countries.
On May 16, Italy began welcoming passengers arriving on government-approved âCOVID-testedâ flights from several countries, including the United States. Travel requirements for these flights include a negative COVID-19 test before departure, at boarding, and on arrival in Italy.
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines are already offering some COVID-tested flights to Rome and Milan from several U.S. cities. More flights and cities will be added to the schedule later this summer.
Other countries have announced various âopening datesâ for when travelers from the United States will be welcome as well.
Spain was going to open its borders to all vaccinated tourists â including Americans â on June 7. But that date has been pushed back to at least June 30th.
More countries will be joining that list. âBut itâs going to be a hodgepodge this summer,â says Scott Keyes of Scottâs Cheap Flights, âFor most countries, youâll need to either bring proof of vaccination or a recent negative test.â
Lending encouragement is the fact that this week seven of the 27 countries in the European Union âBulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia, and Poland â began using the EU Digital COVID certificate, known as the Digital Green Certificate, a month ahead of schedule. Other countries will adopt the program that securely verifies the COVID-19 status of EU citizens in the next few weeks and âthese countries will be able to decide if they will allow U.S. travelers to participate,â says Keyes.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says it is safe for vaccinated Americans to travel internationally, keeping in mind the COVID-19 travel destination advisories on this regularly updated list.
Non-essential travel, which includes tourism, is still restricted between the United States and Canada. Ahead of the summer Olympics, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory warning against travel to Japan.
In mid-May, the United Kingdom rolled out a âtraffic light systemâ for international travel. This puts countries on red, amber, and green lists. The lists are set to be reviewed next at the end of June, but for now, the United States is categorized as âamber.â That means anyone arriving from the United States must fill out a passenger locator form, provide notification of a negative test result prior to travel, quarantine for 10 days on arrival, and take a COVID test on day 2 and day 8 after arrival. Â
While countries may be constantly changing their entry requirements in response to COVID-19 cases and conditions, âgenerally speaking, the one-way ratchet is towards more reopening,â says Keyes. He recommends checking the US State Department website for updates, as well as individual government and embassy websites before making any bookings.
Flexibility and generous cancellation polities are still the mantras when booking hotel stays, airline tickets and cruises, or buying passes to theme parks, museums, and attractions.
But donât worry if you are not ready to hit the âbuyâ button right now.
âDemand is strong, causing availability to be limited in some places while also driving up rates,â says Virtuosoâs Belles. âWhile Europe is slowly opening this summer, fall is when people will likely feel more confident about setting their travel plans,â and when rates may settle down.
We’re all for finding the odd in the world. So we’re pleased to see United Airlines adding a new “America, Who Knew?â filter to its Map Search program. Some of the tidbits you can learn from the map:
To reduce plastic waste on airplanes, Alaska Airlines is replacing e single-use plastic bottles with Boxed Waterâs 92% plant-based cartons. This will help remove 7.2 million plastic bottles a year, the equivalent of approximately 98,000 lbs of plastic.
Boxed Water is already served on Alaskaâs Horizon Air-operated flights and is expanding to all Alaska flights throughout the summer, beginning this week with First Class.
The airline is also resuming its program of recycling cans, bottles, and water bottles starting May 19. The program has been on hold for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline’s employees first started a recycling program more than 15 years ago.
Just in time for Mobility Awareness Month, Miami International Airport (MIA) is celebrating the installation of 10 new wheelchair charging stations. If you use a wheelchair or travel with someone who does, you will be pleased to know there are now 10 charging spots at MIA: eight post-security and two pre-security.Â
Starting May 10, MIA will also have an on-site COVID-19 vaccination site that will be accessible to travelers who live and work in Florida, as well as to airport employees and family and friends of airport employees.
Sick of being stuck at home? Eyeing Europe for that first post-pandemic trip?
You may be in luck. A New York Times story on Sunday evening offers real hope that you may be able to head that way. Perhaps as early as this summer.
According to the NYT, the EU is Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer.
Nonessential travel into EU countries from the US has been shut down for more than a year. But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tells the New York Times that the union’s 27 members will accept people who are vaccinated with vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (E.M.A.). The agency gives the OK to the three vaccines being used in the United States: Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson.
“The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” von der Leyen said. “This will enable free movement and travel to the European Union.”
No exact timeline for easing the travel restrictions is set. And discussions are still underway on how to create a safe and technologically reliable way for travelers to show a vaccine certificate. But on Monday Greece plans to begin opening its borders to travelers who show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test.
More information will likely come out this week. But, yay!? Are you ready to go?
While the National Air & Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington D.C. remains closed for now, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Washington Dulles International Airport, announces it will reopen on Wednesday, May 5.
Free, timed entry passes are available. And masks, of courses, are required of all visitors. But this is good news for avgeeks and space fans alike.
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Alan Shepard’s historic spaceflight on May 5, 1961, the Mercury capsule Freedom 7 is now on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. That capsule sits next to command module Columbia, which took the Apollo 11 astronauts to the Moon and back in 1969. (Above)
This Blue Angels F-18 Hornet is new to the collection and is now on display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar.
Can’t get to the museum just yet? Check out the Air & Space Museum’s online artifact database (including some 3D images), the podcast, and other resources.