Q&A: What you need to know about the United Kingdom and Ireland travel ban
Add the United Kingdom and Ireland to the list of European nations on President Donald Trump’s travel ban list.
The United Kingdom, which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, along with the Republic of Ireland are being added to the list of European nations from which most foreigners will be barred from entering the U.S.
Americans traveling there will be allowed to come home.
Here’s what you need to know:
When does the ban take effect?
11:59 EDT Monday.
Why is this happening?
The U.K. was initially exempt from the long list of European nations included under the ban that Trump announced last week. The administration said at the time that the U.K. wasn’t seeing the large number of cases that were being experienced elsewhere on the continent.
But on Saturday, the U.K. and Ireland were added to the list after they saw a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
What’s the British government’s reaction to the ban?
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued its own warning to British citizens advising against “all but essential travel to the USA, due to restrictions put in place by the U.S. government.”
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
- New York JFK
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- Washington-Dulles International Airport
- Boston Logan International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport
What’s the arrival procedure?
Customs and Border Protection officers will conduct an “enhanced medical interview.” Those who aren’t showing flu symptoms will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days. Those who show flu symptoms are referred to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “for enhanced medical evaluation,” says the Department of Homeland Security.
Does the airport chaos over the weekend mean I’m going to face the same thing coming back from England or Ireland?
No one knows for sure, but there is one encouraging sign: Average wait times for Americans returning home were 27.2 minutes on Sunday, a normal level, according to Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security.
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I had a vacation booked to the U.K. What about my airline tickets?
Major carriers are waiving change fees. But policies mostly involving when tickets were bought and travel dates differ by carrier.
I am in England and want to return home to the U.S. With the restrictions, will airfares be exorbitant?
Delta, American and United Airlines said last week that they are imposing caps on ticket prices. Southwest announced caps on last-minute fares purchased by Friday.
Contributing: Dawn Gilbertson
