US details how travelers can return

International travelers, including those fully vaccinated with China's Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, can resume air travel to the United States starting Nov 8 with proof of vaccination before boarding and a negative coronavirus test taken within three days.

The stipulation is part of the guidance released on Monday, detailing how international travelers can prepare for entry into the US. The travel ban was imposed in early 2020 on most non-US citizens from 33 countries including China, the United Kingdom, India and South Africa.

President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order imposing new vaccine requirements for most foreign travelers and lifting strict travel restrictions on those countries effective in two weeks.

"For purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include the FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listed vaccines," said a senior Biden administration official to reporters on Monday.

Vaccines approved for regular or emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization include those from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and China's Sinopharm and Sinovac.

For unvaccinated air passengers, including unvaccinated US citizens and lawful permanent residents, the new policy will now require a test within one day before flying to the US.

Basic information needed

According to an order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, international travelers to the US will also be required to provide information such as US addresses, email addresses and phone numbers to airlines before boarding flights. This information will be retained for 30 days.

Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice-president of the US Travel Association, said Monday's policy "provides much-needed clarity for planning".

Travel has been the top US services export to China, which had been the third-largest source of travelers to the US, and 3 million Chinese visitations in 2018 accounted for 7.5 percent of overseas travel to the US, according to the association.

Fares from Chinese passengers flying on US airlines alone totaled $2.5 billion, or 7 percent of US travel exports to China in 2018, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.

But in 2019, business travel from China fell by around 10 percent to $3.6 billion, and personal travel declined by a little over 8 percent to $9.4 billion, "possibly due to visa slowdowns and general wariness of traveling to the US amid bilateral tensions", noted the 2021 State Export Report by the US-China Business Council.

According to an October update from the International Air Transport Association, a return to profitability of the global airline industry will be delayed another year, and 2022 will be another year of losses with gradual recovery.