CDC ends order requiring negative COVID-19 test prior to flights to the US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has rescinded its order requiring travelers to show a negative COVID-19 pre-departure test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States.

The order ended at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

This means air passengers do not need to get tested or show their COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery prior to boarding a flight to the US.

In a press release late Friday, the CDC said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has now shifted to a new phase, due to the widespread uptake of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines, the availability of effective therapeutics, and the accrual of high rates of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity at the population level in the United States. Each of these measures has contributed to lower risk of severe disease and death across the United States.”

As a result, the CDC says this requirement may be withdrawn. 

The CDC continues to recommend that those travelers boarding a flight to the US get tested for current infection with a viral test as close to the time of departure as possible (no more than three days) and not travel if they are sick.

They will reassess the need for a testing requirement if the situation changes.

On Friday, American Hotel & Lodging Association President & CEO Chip Rogers said, “Lifting the requirement will make travel easier, facilitating more international visitors and helping hotels continue on the road to recovery, especially as we approach peak travel season this summer.”

Calling it “a significant win for hotels and the broader travel industry,” Rogers said the requirement was “out of date” and “had a chilling effect on inbound international travel to the US.”