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The U.S. airline has announced nine additional seasonal U.S. routes to be launched this summer, as it prepares for what it anticipates to be a recovery in leisure travel. The new routes are scheduled to begin from a number of dates throughout May 2021 and include services from New York JFK to Bozeman (Montana); from Boston to Hilton Head (S.C), Traverse City (Michigan) and Bangor (Maine); from Atlanta to Bangor (Maine); from Seattle to Glacier Park (Montana), Fresno (California) and Reno (Nevada); finally, from Detroit to Bozeman (Montana).

The cruise line has announced that it will resume North American sailings from 5 June, with it's ship Celebrity Millennium departing on 5 June from St. Maarten. Bookings for the cruise will open on 25 March to COVID-19-vaccinated adults, and children under the age of 18 with negative COVID-19 test results within 72 hours of embarkation. The ship's crew will also have been vaccinated.

Royal Caribbean International has announced that it will resume cruising in North America from 12 June in the Bahamas; the cruise line will offer seven-day sailings from Nassau on the Adventure of the Seas that will spend two days at its private Bahamian island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and call at Grand Bahama Island and Cozumel, Mexico. It will only allow fully COVID-19-vaccinated adults to cruise, while passengers under the age of 18 can sail with negative PCR test results. The ship's entire crew will also be vaccinated.

A new Norway-based airline has announced that it will launch from December 2021 and attempt to fill the low-cost transatlantic void left by Norwegian Air, who suspended their transatlantic services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Norse Atlantic Airways plans to fly Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft between European destinations such as London, Paris and Oslo and U.S. destinations such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami; tickets are due to go on sale in the Autumn.

The airline has announced that it has extended its COVID-19 global wellness insurance cover until 1 October 2021; the cover is included with every Etihad ticket, providing protection for the first 31 days of a passenger’s trip.

The hotel brand has announced that from this month, event planner partners who book or have booked an event at any U.S. property will gain access to the 'EventReady Playbook' - a manual including a list of third party partners that can provide a variety of COVID-19 testing and health screening options; among other options this will include same day, on-site COVID-19 testing.

The Israeli airline today, 8 March, launched a pilot programme at its Tel Aviv airport check-in counters to test unvaccinated passengers for COVID-19, before allowing them to board a non-stop flight to New York. Further testing is due to be carried out by the airline in New York within the next week, before a decision is made on whether to expand the initiative to other flight routes.

Since November, people travelling in or out of Vermont have been subject to a strict, state-mandated quarantine; travellers must isolate for two weeks on entering or when preparing to leave the state, or for a week if they receive a negative COVID-19 test result. However, the rules are changing for people who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine - from 2 March, travellers who have been vaccinated may come or go freely without isolating.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will resume daily flights to New York's Newark Liberty International Airport, via Athens, from 1 June. The addition of Newark via Athens will take Emirates’ U.S. network to 10 destinations following the resumption of services to Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Washington DC, Dallas and San Francisco (to resume on 2 March).

The U.S. government has announced that its land borders with both Mexico and Canada will remain closed to non-essential travel for at least another month until 21 March. The land border restrictions, aimed at controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, were first announced in March and have thus far been renewed monthly.

It has been announced that major U.S. airlines are set to assist public health officials by asking for the personal information of passengers arriving in the country, in a bid to speed up potential contact tracing needs. The information that the airlines will be asking of its US-bound international passengers is as follows: legal name, two phone numbers, email address and the address of where travellers will be staying in the US - or address of permanent residence in the US. Submitting the information is voluntary, with passengers not obligated to pass on such information when asked to do so.

The country's government has published updated COVID-19 travel restrictions for some regions; among them, the entire state of Quintana Roo (including Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum and Isla Mujeres) is open for tourism. There are also no limits on the numbers of tourists that arrive to Cancun's international Airport. Travellers are not required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before they travel to Cancun, or to quarantine upon arrival. However, hotels and restaurants are limited to 50% capacity, and masks are required in all public areas including resorts.

The country's government has published further guidance for incoming travellers to Canada, including on new hotel quarantine measures, which will come into effect from 22 February. All travellers are to be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained no more than 72 hours prior to their departure, and must only arrive via airports in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Passengers will also be subject to PCR testing upon arrival, and must complete a three-night stay in a government-authorised hotel followed by 11 days of self-isolation; hotel stays must be booked in advance from 18 February, when the portal opens. The cost of the hotel quarantine will be the responsibility of the traveller and will stand at up to $2000 (CAD) per person. From 22 February, travellers entering Canada at the land border will also be required to take a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival as well as toward the end of their 14-day quarantine.

U.S. low-cost airline Southwest Airlines has announced a partnership with COVID-19 testing provider CityHealth Urgent Care, to bring pre-flight testing to California's San Jose International Airport for passengers bound for the state of Hawaii; testing will be available for as little as $20 (USD) via the airline, who are one of three carriers now providing this service from the airport.

The United States Transport Security Administration (TSA) has announced that passengers in the U.S. can now be fined for refusing to wear face masks during transit to limit the transmission of COVID-19; passengers will be fine between $250 and $1500 (USD) if in breach of these new measures on aircraft and other forms of public transportation such as trains and buses. Exempted from the requirement are children under two years old and people with a disability or medical exemption. The mask mandate is effective until at least 11 May.

The country's government has announced that a suspension on cruise ships carrying more than 100 passengers will now remain in place until at least 28 February 2022. Also extended is an order prohibiting pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters, except for those used by residents of the region.

The government of the Canadian province of Ontario is mandating COVID-19 testing for all arriving international passengers, as part of what they call a six-point plan to battle COVID-19 variants. This new measure took effect as of 00.01 (local time) today, 1 February.

The country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a mandate for travellers on aircraft and other forms of public transport to wear face masks from 1 February, in a bid to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

The country's government has announced that all Canadian passengers returning from international travel will now be required to take a COVID-19 test on arrival, followed by three days of monitored hotel quarantine at their own expense while awaiting the results. Those with negative tests will then be permitted to quarantine at home for the remainder of a two-week period. Non-essential travel into Canada by most foreign nationals has been banned since the pandemic first began in March 2020.

The airline has unveiled updated capability on its mobile app, ahead of a new requirement from 26 January for passengers arriving in the U.S. to show either a negative COVID-19 test result from within 72 hours of departure, or proof that they have recovered from the virus within the previous 90 days. United Airlines passengers can now upload the required documentation directly to the app for verification prior to their airport arrival.