The European Union has agreed to allow quarantine-free travel for vaccinated visitors and tourists from countries deemed safe, making way for reopening hassle-free trans-Atlantic flights. Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states supported the proposal to waive quarantine for those with coronavirus inoculations approved by their drug regulators, including shots from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc.
The approval could be finalized in the fourth week of May and implemented soon after. According to two officials familiar with the decision, unvaccinated travellers can also avoid quarantine if they come from countries that have managed to control the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning a 14-day new-case rate of less than 75 per 100,000.
This would likely land the U.S. on a ‘white list’, which is due to be adopted later this week. But with so many Americans already vaccinated, the designation may be less important to the travel industry than whether American officials reciprocate and loosen rules for European visitors.
