CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Pandemic-era restrictions on international travel are now over.
People from foreign countries can now travel to the United States as long as they present proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimundo and United Airlines President Brett Hart marked the milestone during a news conference at O'Hare International Airport.
But the real story of the end of travel restrictions could be found at the international arrivals gate at Terminal 5.
Soomin Kim held a bouquet of flowers as he waited for his girlfriend Yerin Hong to disembark from United Airlines Flight 945 from Frankfurt, Germany. The couple is from South Korea and he is studying in Michigan while she's studying in Germany. They have not seen each other since a meeting in South Korea over the summer.
Andreas Bucker of Berlin, Germany used to travel to the U.S. twice a year. When the Biden Administration announced the end of travel restrictions, Bucker said he booked the first flight out.
"When it was announced that on the 8th of November we could come in I booked the first flight here, so here I am," Bucker told WBBM Newsradio.
Bucker is visiting business partners in Denver and he said that all flights to Chicago and Denver were completely booked within a matter of days.
"Within two days they were all snapped up," Bucker said.
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