Without it, they likely won’t be able to board their flight. 

Amid the latest Delta-fueled wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU’s 27 countries voted by majority on Monday to kick the United States and Israel off the third-country “safe” list, which allows nonessential travel from those countries without proof of vaccination. While ultimately not binding, the list serves as a strong recommendation for all member states to help coordinate travel restrictions across the bloc.

Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and the Republic of North Macedonia were also removed from the safe list.

The European Council noted that the decision offers “the possibility for member states to lift the temporary restriction on nonessential travel to the EU for fully vaccinated travelers,” suggesting that people who have been fully inoculated against COVID-19 will continue to be allowed into many parts of the EU, so long as they used one of the EU-approved vaccines. These currently include Pfizer’s Comirnaty, developed by its European partner BioNTech, as well as those from Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson.

The U.S., which continues to keep its borders closed to EU citizens, first made the safe list in June thanks to the considerable progress it made in quickly vaccinating its population. It has since been overtaken by the EU.

Courtesy of Our World in Data

Cases in the U.S. have exploded of late, due to the highly contagious Delta strain that has in particular plagued Southern states, including Florida. In some areas, fewer than 10% of available ICU beds are still vacant, according to U.S. government statistics.

As a result, the country’s incidence rate, which serves as a key metric for EU authorities, jumped to 588 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the most recent 14-day period.

This is far above the recommended ceiling of 75 that the EU set forth in its guidelines, a rate the U.S. last met back in mid-July. The U.S. isn’t even the most badly hit: Israel, long the poster child for a successful vaccine rollout, has seen its incidence rate skyrocket to 1,043, and now it is aggressively rolling out a booster shot campaign.  

For air carriers like Lufthansa Group, which depends heavily on transatlantic routes for profits, the latest development is sure to put a damper on its outlook. Chief executive Carsten Spohr said earlier this month that his company had begun factoring in increased demand into its financial plans for the fourth quarter of this year.

The EU white list of safe third countries was last amended in mid-July to include 22 nations, when the Ukraine was added while Rwanda and Thailand were removed.  

Typically the permanent representatives of the member states vote on recommendations to update the list made by the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) panel of experts, which continuously analyzes developments from around the world. 

Decisions are reviewed every two weeks, so it is likely only a question of time before the U.S. once again earns a place.