The US CDC has announced that air passengers traveling to the US from a foreign country are no longer required to show a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of recovery before boarding a flight.

That requirement, which had been in place since January 2021, was the last significant US COVID-19 travel restriction to be relaxed.

This ruling applies to US citizens, US nationals, lawful permanent US residents, and persons traveling to the US on immigrant visas.

However: persons not included in one of the foregoing categories must show proof of full vaccination with the primary series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine in order to fly to the US.

USTA President Roger Dow called lifting of the testing rule “another huge step forward for the recovery of inbound air travel and the return of international travel to the United States.”

In May, prior to the lifting of the pre-arrival-testing requirement, US international inbound numbers were at 24% below 2019 levels.