International Visitors Land Post-Pandemic Shutdown Reunions at JFK Airport (New York: live, build)

[Aeran]

Nice. Saw on TV how joyful and teary eyed some of the passengers were upon landing and finally being allowed to see their loved ones or to pay a visit for the first time. I hope this is a sign for better things to come. Hospitalizations are at the lowest rate ever since the start of this global pandemic.

https://www.thecity.nyc/queens/2021/...ns-jfk-airport

Hugs and hopes for a tourism boom greet the arrival of the first flights following the reopening of U.S. airports to visitors from 33 countries, from China to Brazil to the U.K.

Some New Yorkers embraced loved ones for the first time in nearly 20 months on Monday after the Biden administration lifted foreign travel bans put in place in response to the pandemic.

Shortly after their flights touched down at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, many foreign visitors shed tears of joy as they hugged their family and friends.

But not all of them.

“I’m British. I don’t do emotions,” quipped Antony Baird of Newcastle, England, 59, who flew British Airways across the pond to build a custom guitar and jam with his old buddy David Roe.

“It’s good seeing my mate,” Roe, 57, added. “It’s always great. It’s great to be finally allowed to travel.”

Since early 2020, the federal government has tried to slow the spread of the coronavirus by banning non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the U.S. from 33 countries, including China, Mexico, India, Brazil and many in Europe. On Monday, those restrictions were dropped. Foreigners are now beginning to flock to the U.S.

“I’ve never been to the States, let alone New York,” said Rachel Wager, 44, of Cambridge, England, who came as soon as she could to see her sibling, Katie Mejias, 40, who lives in Queens. “My sister just moved here, so my family has been waiting for the travel ban to lift.”