Two U.S. Airlines Launch Digital "Passports" for Passengers' Covid Status
Posted on 01/25/2021, 12:00 PM
Frommer's has been talking for months about the advent of vaccination passports, and it looks like the first iterations in the American air industry are here, by way of United Airlines and American Airlines. Both carriers have unveiled plans for portals—new additions to apps and websites—that are designed to both alert travelers to international health regulations and store the documentation needed...
Biden Announces Quarantine Requirement for Those Returning to the U.S. from Abroad
Posted on 01/22/2021, 9:00 AM
Federal regulations regarding travel are changing by the day—if not the hour. On the day after his inauguration as president, Joe Biden announced that, starting Tuesday, January 26, travelers entering the United States from abroad will be required to self-quarantine in addition to showing proof of negative coronavirus test results. Note that U.S. citizens returning from vacations in other countri...
Bad Tourists Are Faking Covid Test Results. Here’s How to Stop Them.
Posted on 01/21/2021, 2:00 PM
The advent of pandemic travel restrictions has given rise to a whole new subset of bad tourists. We're talking about the quarantine flouters, mask refuseniks, and other coronavirus corner-cutters and outright cheats who decide that the laws of government and virus transmission don't apply to them. But the most brazen members of this group might be the vacationers who falsify Covid-19 test results ...
On Day One, President Biden Makes Masks Mandatory on Planes, At National Parks, and Elsewhere
Posted on 01/21/2021, 12:00 PM
Over the last 10 months, common sense sat on the back burner. Even though 33 transportation unions, most airline CEOs, the good folks at Consumer Reports, and hundreds of thousands of travelers begged the Trump administration to create pandemic safety regulations for the spaces that don't fall under state control, no action was ever taken. It was a national shame, and one that Joe Biden rightly fe...
These Last-Minute Rules from the Trump Administration Could Harm Travelers
Posted on 01/19/2021, 9:00 AM
Yes, travel is our focus at Frommer's. But that doesn't mean we can ignore the actions of government that affect how we travel—our safety, our rights as consumers, and the protection of the natural and historic sites we cherish. As the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica has brought to light, the outgoing Trump administration has enacted a high number of last-minute regulati...
Americans Flying Abroad Must Obtain Covid Tests Before Returning
Posted on 01/15/2021, 12:00 PM
Starting Tuesday, January 26, anyone flying into the United States will be required to produce proof of a negative Covid-19 test. That requirement, announced by the Centers for Disease Control on January 12, might have slipped your notice, or maybe you thought the rule would only affect incoming tourists. Wrong. It's for everyone. Including American citizens. The CDC is explicit. The announceme...
A New Government Rule Might Have Just Killed Involuntary Airline Bumping for Good
Posted on 01/14/2021, 12:00 PM
Midnight regulations are actions taken during the lame-duck period of a presidential administration. They tend to be controversial moves, especially if one party is taking over the White House from another. That has certainly been the case during the waning days of Pres. Trump's time in office. Since losing his bid for reelection in November, Trump has presided over the removal of LGBTQ nondiscrim...
What's the Airport Experience Without CNN? We'll Soon Know
Posted on 01/13/2021, 6:00 AM
As if the travel experience hadn't changed enough recently, the background drone of cable pundits pontificating will soon be gone from U.S. airports. On January 12, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy tweeted the following statement from CNN president Jeff Zucker: "Today we are announcing that the CNN Airport Network will end on March 31. The steep decline in airport traffic because of COVID-19, coup...
Disney World Guts Guest Benefits at Its Hotels: Why Would You Stay Now?
Posted on 01/12/2021, 2:00 PM
From a value standpoint, it's already a highly debatable decision to stay within the borders of Walt Disney World at a Disney-owned hotel. Those properties easily cost at least twice as much as hotels of comparable quality just a few miles away. People who choose to submit to the inflated expense will tell you they have their reasons. One frequently heard justification is the importance of being c...
Stray Cats and Washing Machines: Memories of Inspired Kindness
Posted on 01/08/2021, 1:00 PM
One of the great blessings of travel is that it allows us to see how people across the globe lead their daily lives. That includes how they handle the problems that rarely make the news. Alas, we're in a no-travel time right now. But we can still scratch that travel itch by learning about contemporary cultures across the globe—and the way the Portuguese are dealing with stray cats offers welcome i...
