International travel returns to Orlando as ban ends: What to know

International travelers return to Florida

The first flight from the United Kingdom touched down Monday for the first time in 19 months. The ban on international travel lifted across the country on Monday.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The ban on international travelers coming into the United States is over.

The first flight from another country arrived at the Orlando International Airport on Monday afternoon. The Virgin Atlantic plane flew in from Manchester, England, and landed just after 3 p.m.

While international travel is back, there are some new rules for passengers to follow.

For example:

International adult travelers must be fully vaccinated with a World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine. Children under the age of 18 are exempt from this because of limited vaccine availability in many countries.
Incoming foreign visitors and returning U.S. residents must have a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before arriving in the United States.
If the visitor is unvaccinated, they have to show a negative COVID-19 test within one day of departure.

Orlando International Airport said that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport saw roughly 7 million international travelers annually. About half of them were estimated to be from England.

"A lot of the British citizens have homes here. They like to travel here and we like to see them travel so it’s been a challenge," airport CEO Phil Brown said.

Hooper, an airline tracking website, said that searches for international flights to the United States have more than quadrupled.

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