Travel Week in Review – May 14, 2021

Airlines including Delta, JetBlue, and United temporarily switched to back-to-front plane boarding during the pandemic to cut down on unnecessary close contact between passengers. But a new study says this method — filling aisles one-by-one from the back — could actually double your chance of being exposed to COVID-19 compared to random boarding. Read More…

Uber expanded a host of new services in its app to benefit travelers, just as more vaccinated Americans have begun booking vacations this spring. Thanks to the new update, travelers will have even more places to snag a rental car, especially helpful during the recent rental car shortage. Starting Wednesday, you can now rent a car directly in the app with “dozens” of top companies, said a statement from Uber. Read More…

Over the past couple of months, European countries have oscillated between locking down (some, for a third time) and announcing plans to reopen to international travelers—in cases like France’s, simultaneously. But even as countries battle second and third waves of COVID-19, vaccine rollouts continue to expand, making a return to normalcy—and for Americans, safe travel to Europe—visible on the horizon at long last. Read More…

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced an extension of its CDC-backed requirement that passengers wear face masks aboard planes, trains, buses, and all public forms of transportation. The order was set to expire on May 11, but will instead continue through at least September 3, 2021. TSA confirmed that children under the age of two and passengers with certain disabilities will continue to be exempt from the mask regulation. Read More…

The U.S. State Department eased travel warnings for the United Kingdom and Israel just weeks after raising both countries — and much of the world — to its highest travel advisory classification. The UK, which has begun lifting its strict lockdown restrictions and plans to reopen to some international travel on May 17, is now classified under “Level 3: Reconsider Travel.” Currently, most travel from the UK remains prohibited. Read More…