More than 200,000 people flew to the US on Monday under new rules

Travelers from more than 30 countries previously banned by coronavirus restrictions poured into US airports on Monday, the first day on which visitors coming from those countries, but travel from abroad still lagged far behind prepandemic levels. This was the first time that airlines have required proof of vaccination for travelers boarding flights to the United States. Visitors also were required to show proof of a negative coronavirus test. As photos of emotional reunions spread across social media on Monday, 206,990 international travelers arrived at US airports, according to Customs and Border Protection. This is nearly 40,000 more travelers from abroad than the United States received on a typical day in 2020. Visitors from England, Ireland, France, Brazil, China, India, Iran and 26 other previously restricted countries were welcomed in the change, which signaled a shift toward normality, an enormously significant development that buoyed hopes for hotels, restaurants, long-divided families and companies with overseas employees. The overall number of incoming travelers, including US citizens but not counting crew members, falls far short of a typical day in 2019, when 371,912 people, including air passengers and crew, flew into the United States. (Estimates for a typical day in 2021 are not yet available.) Numerous airlines and tourism analysts have expressed optimism that the real bump in travel to the United States from abroad will occur over the holidays.<br/>