It’s now easier to travel from USA to Germany
Germany and the USA recently relaxed travel restrictions. New flights will make it easier to travel between these two countries. Let’s take a closer look at the details.
What’s happened?
Many countries have significantly relaxed their travel restrictions because the Omicron Covid-19 variant generally causes less severe illnesses than other variants. The USA and Germany followed the US’s lead last week, announcing that they would be dropping their entry restrictions.
New flight connections between Berlin’s BER airport in Germany and the United States have been announced. We discuss how travel between these two countries has become easier, and what you need to be aware of.
What changes are there in Germany?
Germany announced on June 11th that all Covid-19 restrictions were being temporarily lifted.
This means that anyone can travel to Germany from non-EU countries such as the United States, and they don’t have to be vaccinated for Covid-19.
People living in China have to find a reason to travel to Germany.
Germany also removed the requirement that travellers must show their Covid status in order to be allowed into Germany.
This means that people don’t have to present proof of recovery, vaccinations or negative Covid tests before they can travel to Germany under the so-called 3G rule.
Germany has temporarily suspended the 3G entry rule for August. Although it is not clear if any restrictions will be imposed again after August 31, it will likely depend upon the Covid situation.
It is important to remember that strict rules may be in place if a country has been classified as a “virus variant” area. These rules include the exclusion of non-German citizens and residents from Germany and the imposition of a 14-day quarantine on those who can enter Germany.
As Phil Schaaf, a US writer and The Local reader, shows, it used to be much more difficult to travel to Germany from the States.
What happened at the American end?
The US government relaxed its entry regulations across the Atlantic on June 12th. The US government has relaxed its entry rules for Americans arriving in the country. They no longer require proof of recovery or a negative Covid test to board their flights. All citizens of the United States had to present a negative Covid test or proof of recovery before they were allowed to enter the country.
People must still be fully vaccinated before they can enter the country. However, legal residents and citizens of the United States do not have to be vaccinated.
According to the US Embassy in Germany, travelers are no longer required by law to present a negative Covid-19 or prove of recovery in order to enter the United States.
But, non-immigrant and non-citizen travelers to the United States are required to be fully vaccinated, and to show proof of vaccination, before boarding an aircraft to the United States.
An exemption can be requested by individuals.
According to the American CDC, people are fully vaccinated two weeks after they have been vaccinated.
A single dose, approved vaccine
A second dose of a 2-dose series that is accepted can be taken
Receiving the entire series of an approved Covid-19 vaccine (not placebo), in a clinical study
Receiving 2 doses of any combination of approved Covid-19 vaccines at least 17 days apart
According to the US, people don’t need booster jabs to be fully vaccinated. A person who has received one dose of Covid and is now fully vaccinated can travel to the US.
Are any Covid rules still in effect?
Germany still requires that all public transport including planes, have a facial mask. This is usually an FFP2 mask. This means that travellers from the USA will need to wear a mask when flying to Germany.
Some places, such as dentists and doctor surgeries, require that masks be worn. Customers may also be required to wear masks by their individual businesses so make sure you have one on hand when you go out.
If they receive a positive Covid test, people must isolate for at most five days. Germany offers Covid tests at no cost to anyone, including tourists, at its test stations or centres. This offer will be available until the end of June. A Burgertest can be requested at any test station. All they have to do is complete some details and present ID such as a passport.
The US may have certain requirements, such as mandatory masks for public transport. Make sure to check these rules before you go.
What is this all about?
Flyers from Berlin, Germany will soon have the option to fly more directly to the USA.
According to the company, Norse Atlantic Airways, a Norwegian airline, will link BER Airport with New York City and Los Angeles starting in mid-August.
Daily flights will operate to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport starting August 17th and three weekly flights from Los Angeles to LAX beginning August 19th. The Boeing 787 aircraft will also offer cargo services.
United Airlines will be the competition at BER. Since March, the US airline has been transporting passengers between Berlin and New York’s Newark Airport.
Long-haul connections are available from BER to Doha, Singapore and Dubai in winter. For many years, politicians and businessmen in the region demanded more long-haul routes. Berlin’s Tegel Airport used to offer only a few long-haul direct flights.
For longer connections to busier transport hubs such as Frankfurt or Munich, passengers flying from the region will often need to change planes.
Germany’s summer transport offering has been a huge success so far. 16 million customers have purchased the EUR9 ticket since it was launched in May.
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) reported the figures. They have been keeping track of sales of the EUR9 ticket ever since it was released on May 23rd.
The deal offers unlimited transport on any local or regional transport in Germany for less that EUR10 per month, and was embraced by around 16 million people within the first three weeks of its launch.
VDV stated, “Additionally, there are at least ten million tickets belonging to season ticket holders, which can be valid as EUR9 tickets during the three months June, July, and August.”
Operators stated that this indicated they were on track to reach their summer forecast of 30 million users per month for public transport.
Spike of passengers
Deutsche Bahn and other German transport companies expect trains, buses, and trams to be busier than usual with the EUR9 monthly ticket offer for peak travel months June, July, and August.
Early estimates of the number of passengers on regional trains in June, just after the Whitsun weekend and the first few days before it closed, indicated that DB had approximately 10 percent more.
There were many reports that people were not allowed to board packed trains on the Whitsun weekend. Many attribute the chaos to the EUR9 ticket’s spike in demand.
However, commentators pointed out similar scenes on German public transportation on Whitsun weekends prior to the availability of a budget ticket.
The cheap monthly ticket was originally announced in March. It is part of a package that offers financial relief to people who are struggling with high energy prices.
A EUR 3.13 billion tax cut was also announced by the government for petrol companies. This was to provide drivers with relief at the pumps. Early signs indicate that the tax cut is not yet fully passed on to consumers.