© 2025
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom.

Photos: Loved ones reunite as U.S. reopens to international travelers

By Virginia Lozano
Published November 8, 2021 at 8:48 PM CST
Yerin Hong gets a hug from her boyfriend Soomin Kim after she arrived on a flight from Germany at the international terminal at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson
/
Getty Images
Yerin Hong gets a hug from her boyfriend Soomin Kim after she arrived on a flight from Germany at the international terminal at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois.

The U.S. reopened on Monday to fully vaccinated international travelers from 33 countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe. Travelers reconeccted with loved ones at airports and border crossings. Proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test is required for air travel and those entering from Mexico and Canada's land borders only require proof of vaccination.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Cars line up to enter the U.S. from Canada at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Wash.
Elaine Thompson / AP
/
AP
Cars line up to enter the U.S. from Canada at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Wash.
Dual U.S.-Canadian citizen Traysi Spring, right, and her American husband Tom Bakken, hold a homemade sign to welcome people heading into the U.S. from Canada on Monday.
Elaine Thompson / AP
/
AP
Dual U.S.-Canadian citizen Traysi Spring, right, and her American husband Tom Bakken, hold a homemade sign to welcome people heading into the U.S. from Canada on Monday.
A couple embrace each other as they are reunited upon her arrival on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany.
Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
A couple embrace each other as they are reunited upon her arrival on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany.
A pedestrian walks past a line of Canadian travelers in their passenger cars or motor homes on the Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York in the early hours of November 8, 2021.
Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
A pedestrian walks past a line of Canadian travelers in their passenger cars or motor homes on the Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York in the early hours of November 8, 2021.
Passengers walk past airline staff as part of a welcoming event after arriving on a flight from the UK, following the easing of pandemic travel restrictions at JFK international airport in New York.
Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
Passengers walk past airline staff as part of a welcoming event after arriving on a flight from the UK, following the easing of pandemic travel restrictions at JFK international airport in New York.
Alison Henry embraces her son Liam as they meet after arriving on a flight from the UK.
Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
Alison Henry embraces her son Liam as they meet after arriving on a flight from the UK.
A Lufthansa Crew in traditional Bavarian costume wave to an Lufthansa Airbus A 350-900 prior to a flight bound non-stop for Miami at Munich Airport on the first day that U.S. authorities are allowing tourists from Europe to enter the U.S.
Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
/
Getty Images
A Lufthansa Crew in traditional Bavarian costume wave to an Lufthansa Airbus A 350-900 prior to a flight bound non-stop for Miami at Munich Airport on the first day that U.S. authorities are allowing tourists from Europe to enter the U.S.
Natalia Abrahao is lifted up by her fiancé Mark Ogertsehnig as they greet one another at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J.
Seth Wenig / AP
/
AP
Natalia Abrahao is lifted up by her fiancé Mark Ogertsehnig as they greet one another at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J.
Mexican immigration officials greet motorists at the Mexico-U.S.border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico.
Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images
/
Getty Images
Mexican immigration officials greet motorists at the Mexico-U.S.border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico.
U.S. Customs agents check vaccination cards at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images
/
Getty Images
U.S. Customs agents check vaccination cards at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Cars line up at the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, below, on the border with El Paso, Texas on Monday.
Christian Chavez / AP
/
AP
Cars line up at the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, below, on the border with El Paso, Texas on Monday.
Performers entertain passengers at London Heathrow Airport's T3 as the U.S. reopens its borders to UK visitors in a significant boost to the travel sector.
Steve Parsons / PA Images via Getty Images
/
PA Images via Getty Images
Performers entertain passengers at London Heathrow Airport's T3 as the U.S. reopens its borders to UK visitors in a significant boost to the travel sector.
Tags
NPR News
Virginia Lozano