Pandemic travel news: US borders open as more of Europe is rated ‘very high’ risk

(CNN) — Just after practically 20 months of shut borders, the US last but not least opened to vaccinated worldwide people on Monday, November 8.

But transatlantic vacation remains an ever switching landscape, with this 7 days also looking at much more European destinations additional to the CDC’s best threat journey group.

And as European Covid scenarios go on to climb, one central European place is thinking about a lockdown for its unvaccinated population.

Here is what you want to know about pandemic travel this week:

1. The US opened to vaccinated international tourists

That involves tourists coming from formerly banned international locations like the United kingdom, as nicely as EU destinations.

To mark the event, Monday early morning noticed British Airways and Virgin Atlantic join forces to coordinate a historic dual plane take-off.

The rival transatlantic airways scheduled two A350 plane to depart London Heathrow at the similar time, with BA christening its flight BA001, a range typically reserved for the historic Concorde.

2. Thanksgiving travel is expected to rebound

For numerous, the return of international travel to the US implies extensive-awaited household reunions, and some tourists will be timing their journey with Thanksgiving on November 25.

When Thanksgiving 2020 associated hunkering down at household, the American Car Association (AAA) predicts 2021 journey will rebound near to pre-pandemic stages. Some 53.4 million People in america are anticipated to vacation for the holiday — a 13{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} boost from previous yr.

Kathleen Bangs, a former airline pilot and spokesperson for plane tracker company Flight Informed, shared her suggestions for making sure holiday break journey goes easily, including booking flights that depart early in the working day to stay away from a cascading result of delays and cancellations, and even scheduling a again-up flight for excess peace of mind.

3. The Netherlands has moved to the CDC’s best-threat group

The Netherlands landed in the CDC’s maximum possibility category for travel this week.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Photos

Whilst transatlantic vacation could be back again on the table, it is not without the need of its troubles.

This 7 days the US Centers for Disorder Manage and Avoidance additional two northwestern European nations around the world to its list of “pretty substantial” chance travel destinations.

Countries are specified Amount 4 if they have had more than 500 situations for each 100,000 residents in the previous 28 days. The CDC endorses men and women keep away from touring to Level 4 nations around the world, and advises that everyone who should travel should really be totally vaccinated first.

You will find been a surge of cases throughout Europe lately, which a WHO formal reported is “of grave concern.”

4. Austria considers applying a lockdown for unvaccinated people

Unvaccinated people in Austria are already banned from specified general public spots, which include entertainment venues, dining establishments and hairdressers.

According to Johns Hopkins data, 64.3{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} of Austria’s population is thoroughly vaccinated. On Thursday November 11, the Austrian chancellor Alexander Schallenberg named the vaccination fee “shamefully minimal.”

Individuals stroll among the Christmas lights on November 12, 2021, in the vicinity of Stephanplatz in Vienna, Austria.

Georg Hochmuth/AFP via Getty Images

“A lockdown for the unvaccinated implies a single are not able to go away one’s dwelling except if one is likely to perform, searching for necessities, stretching one’s legs — particularly particularly what we all experienced to experience as a result of in 2020,” he reported.

Schallenberg is pushing for this evaluate to be place in spot ASAP.

5. Haunting image of coastal erosion wins Environmental Photographer of the 12 months 2021

This week, the winners of this year’s Environmental Photographer of the Year awards have been introduced at the COP26 Local climate Summit in Glasgow.

“I am pretty pleased. It is really a enormous honor to acquire this sort of an vital prize,” Aragón explained to CNN. “Particularly one that’s linked to the surroundings, which is a subject I’ve been doing the job on for a number of a long time and which I am quite anxious about.”

6. Myanmar plans to reopen to vacationers, elevating just one huge query

Myanmar is working with the pandemic and the aftereffects of a coup.

Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Visuals

The Southeast Asian region of Myanmar options to welcome back again worldwide holidaymakers from early 2022, amid a sophisticated domestic situation.

“We are organizing to reopen tourism for vaccinated holidaymakers if programs are perfectly-geared up for safe and sound and hassle-free journey,” Zeyar Htun, deputy director of the Public Relations and Data Section at the army-run Ministry of Accommodations & Tourism, confirmed to CNN Travel.

7. Some tourists are turning their again on airplanes

Anna Hughes is the director of Flight Free Uk, a campaign team that encourages option types of journey beyond aviation.

As the group starts to encourage individuals to indication a pledge to continue to be flight absolutely free for 2022, there are “two distinctive camps” of tourists, according to Hughes.

CNN’s Marnie Hunter, Joseph Ataman, Chris Liakos, Anna Cooban, Chris Isidore, Geneva Sands, Julia Buckley, Forrest Brown, Rob Picheta, Sharon Braithwaite, Tara John, Nadine Schmidt, Lilit Marcus and Jeevan Ravindran contributed reporting