Airport Alert: COVID-19 Testing Timeframe for International Air Travelers Shortening to 24 Hours

December 1, 2021 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed AAAE that the U.S. government is in the process of amending their international air travel requirements to tighten the pre-departure testing timeframe to 24 hours, regardless of the traveler's vaccination status, in response to the omicron variant. The new one-day testing requirement would apply equally to U.S. citizens as well as foreign nationals.

Currently, fully vaccinated international air travelers can present a negative test result obtained within three days from their point of departure. Only unvaccinated U.S. citizens are required to get a negative COVID-19 test within one day.

CDC anticipates that this change will take effect on Monday, December 6, 2021, not earlier. However, the order is under review by various agencies within the federal government; this means that the effective date could slip. 

According to CDC, there will be no other changes to the current international travel requirements. Travelers can continue to use viral detection kits that are either an antigen or a nucleic acid amplification test (which includes PCR), as outlined in CDC's frequently asked questions. Additionally, the same list of exceptions to the testing requirement will remain in place. 
 
Currently, there are no plans to require travelers to quarantine upon arrival as some press reported earlier. Additionally, there is no ongoing discussion about requiring negative COVID-19 tests or vaccinations for domestic air travel.

AAAE will share the CDC testing order when it becomes available later in the week.