Airlines brace for early 'long lines' when US lifts travel restrictions

Delta CE Ed Bastian said Tuesday that travelers should be prepared for initial long lines when the United States lifts international travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers on Nov. 8. “It’s going to be a bit sloppy at first. I can assure you, there will be lines unfortunately ... but we’ll get it sorted out,” Bastian said at a US travel event. “We’re going to have a good surge of demand but in order to keep that surge up we’re going to need to make it easier and easier for people to figure out what the documentation requirements are.” US President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order here imposing new vaccine requirements for most foreign national air travelers and lifting severe travel restrictions on China, India and much of Europe effective Nov. 8. Airlines will check vaccination documentation for international travelers as they currently do for COVID-19 test results. US Travel CE Roger Dow said in an interview he was concerned whether US border officials would be prepared for the Nov. 8 surge. “I think there will probably be a few hiccups,” Dow said, saying the travel industry thinks the international travel increase “will be much bigger than people expect.”<br/>