The need for vaccination a COVID-19 test results’ verification is expected to create a serious backlog time on both American and international airports once the country fully reopens on Monday.
“The big issue we foresee is at airline check-in at the airports outside of the U.S.,” says Sherry Stein, head of technology for SITA Americas.
“[U.S. Customs and Border Patrol] requires that the airlines are responsible for verifying vaccination records and test results before allowing [international travelers] to check-in.”
However, this does not mean that once travelers touch down on U.S. soil everything will go smoothly.
Data retrieved from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) regarding “On-time and delay flight causes”, and analyzed by The Family Vacation Guide portal, shows that between July 2019 and July 2021 a number of American airports suffered from persistent delays.
The worst-affected airports being -from worst to less bad- are Newark Liberty International, New Jersey with 24.29 percent of delayed flights; LaGuardia, New York with 23 percent; Dallas Fort Worth International in Texas with 21 percent; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International in Florida with 20 percent and Palm Beach International with 19.66 percent.
Other airports experiencing similar issues are Boston Logan International, Massachusetts, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Louisiana, Orlando International, Florida, San Antonio International, Texas, and John F. Kennedy International, New York.
But why going through customs is becoming worse every year instead of improving? Several reasons, uncontrollable ones and predictable ones.
Let start with the uncontrollable ones. Bad weather. This simple reason is the single one aspect impossible to control by the air industry and it has negatively impacted hundreds of flights in the last few weeks.
Regarding the predictable ones, some major airlines are facing the biggest crew shortage in years.
For instance, United Airlines Inc. is spending around $2.8 million per month on paid leaves for unvaccinated pilots because their crew partners “refuse to risk their safety” by flying with them.
On Sept. 27, 273 American Airlines employees began the process of being separated from the company for not complying with its new mandatory vaccination requirement.
SITA Americas is reportedly working with governments to create a digital solution to streamline airport processes.
What is more noticeable about these promised solutions is that the U.S. was closed for EU and Asian countries for 21 months, and in all that time they could not fix the problem, let alone now that the country fully reopens on Monday.
The post U.S. Airports Expect Delays As The Border Reopens to EU Travelers appeared first on Traveling Lifestyle.
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By: Maria Valencia
Title: U.S. Airports Expect Delays As The Border Reopens to EU Travelers
Sourced From: www.travelinglifestyle.net/u-s-airports-expect-delays-as-the-border-reopens-to-eu-travelers/
Published Date: Sun, 07 Nov 2021 12:00:01 +0000
Did you miss our previous article...
https://consumernewsnetwork.com/travel-news/european-center-for-disease-prevention-and-control-advises-against-travel-to-11-member-states
