U.S. ESTA Travel Pass News

After the Korean government’s exemption from quarantine for overseas entrants, as Korean Americans visit Korea more actively, there are frequent cases of delays in check-in at the airport due to the failure to approve the application for an ‘Electronic Travel Authorization’ (K-ETA). The Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) system, which took effect in September last year, was introduced for countries that have signed a visa waiver agreement with Korea and countries that allow entry without a visa. K-ETA applications can be made through the website (www.k-eta.go.kr) when using a general PC, or through the mobile site (m.k-eta.go.kr) when using a smartphone. It is a simple procedure that can be completed in 10 minutes, but if you rush to apply at the airport without realizing it, you are often confused as boarding is delayed due to an unexpected mistake. The following is a Q&A released by the Korean Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice of Korea implemented the K-ETA in earnest on September 1, last year. Citizens of countries subject to K-ETA who have not been issued a K-ETA are not permitted to board aircraft or vessels bound for Korea.

It takes about 10 minutes. You must have a valid passport and email address, and a credit or debit card to pay the K-ETA application fee. If you apply using a PC instead of using the mobile app, you need a photo file for uploading the applicant’s face photo.

The K-ETA application fee is KRW 10,000 (extra fees, etc.) in Korean Won, and can be paid with international credit cards and debit cards such as Visa and MasterCard. After payment of the fee, even if it is not accepted, it is not refundable.

One representative applicant can apply for up to 30 accompanying persons, such as family members, and payment of the application fee can be carried out together.

Applications must be completed at least 24 hours before scheduled departure to Korea. After applying for K-ETA, you can usually receive the evaluation results by e-mail within 24 hours, however, it may take several days depending on the circumstances of the applicant.

Results will be emailed to the applicant. In addition, you can check the application number on the K-ETA website ‘Application Result Inquiry’. If you want to enter Korea when it is denied, you must visit the consulate general and obtain a Korean visa.

An approved K-ETA is valid for two years or the validity period of the applicant’s passport. This means if the applicant’s passport has less than 2 years validity when applying for the K-ETA, the supplied K-ETA will expire with the passport.

Persons holding a Korean alien registration card or a Korean visa (visa), persons entering as sailors or crew members, holders of a valid ABTC card, U.S. military personnel stationed in Korea, prior to entry Those who applied for exemption, those who did not enter Korea, and those who wish to visit Jeju Island or Yangyang by direct flight. However, if you wish to visit other regions after visiting Jeju Island and Yangyang, you must obtain a K-ETA before entering the country.

Downtown Seattle is crowded with tourists, with cruise tours resuming after two years, but as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises again, more employees are taking sick leave, and each business is crying because of a shortage of manpower.

According to the Seattle-King County Health Department, as of May 1, the average daily number of corona infections increased by 9% to 1,006, and the hospitalization rate decreased by 6% to an average of 11 people a day.

Compared to the average daily average of 6,250 in January, the number of infections per day has decreased significantly, but it is almost double the average daily number of infections of 514 just a month ago.

As the number of corona patients increases, the tourism industry is just beginning to revive.

An official from the Seattle tourism industry said, “There are a lot of companies that have difficulties because their employees suddenly request sick leave because they are sick with the corona in the yard where there is a shortage of manpower. It took a long time,” he said.

The hardest hit is the restaurant industry. This is because cruise operations are resumed immediately and the number of tourists has increased, but sufficient manpower is not supported.

Pal Griffin, who runs the crab pot restaurant at Waterfront Pier 57, said, “All businesses will be affected, but restaurants are probably the most affected as they need more people. “I’m worried that the employees will not be able to handle it because they cannot keep up with the increasing number of customers while working two shifts,” he said.

Retail stores are no different.

Kari Higgs, who runs the Seattle T-shirt Company at Pier 55 in Seattle, said, “Recently, the number of calls from employees saying they are taking sick leave due to the coronavirus has increased significantly. did not hide his concerns.

The industry said that if there are many employees who take sick leave, it is difficult to find people to eventually fill the vacancies.

“We are very happy that the tourists are back, but we are frustrated that we can’t find workers to work with,” Kari Higgs said.

The Washington State Hospitality Association said the restaurant industry has been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, with an average restaurant debt of $160,000 over the past two years.

The airlines present in Florida experienced a significant rebound in their activities last winter, enough to make people forget the bad days of COVID-19. They face huge travel demand, according to Henry Harteveldt, industry analyst at Atmosphere Research. Going forward it is expected to increase in this demand.

The difficulty now is that these companies have failed to replenish their workforces. Several employees are no longer there. That’s why some airlines, serving Fort Lauderdale and Miami, have no choice but to scale back their flight schedules for the summer, despite high demand.

JetBlue Airways, one of the carriers with the largest presence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, claimed it was cutting flights by eight to 10 percent for the spring and summer.

Allegiant said it will also reduce the number of flights for next summer. Spirit Airlines is currently evaluating its flight offer, according to its spokesman Erik Hofmeyer.

American Airlines, which flies to South Florida’s three airports, said it made changes to its summer schedules but did not say whether flight reductions were part of its measures.

Delta Air Lines says it hasn’t curtailed flights yet: “…we haven’t made any schedule adjustments based on staffing…said spokesperson Morgan Durrant. A situation deplored by Delta’s chief pilot, Evan Baach: “We are tired and frustrated because we have worked a record number of overtime hours just to maintain this schedule. “. The company is seeing unprecedented demand for travel over the coming summer.

The objective of reducing supply with certain carriers is to enable them to better manage demand. This improvement should translate into greater response efficiency during the difficulties inherent in air transport. Difficulties encountered can range from bad weather to air traffic control problems to technological failures.

The aim is to ensure that there are sufficient human resources available to cover the various disruptions. These reductions are in the interest of customers and of crew members who must take on excessively heavy workloads, according to the chief pilot at Delta Air Lines.

Those who want to come to Florida next summer will be able to do so but may have to plan earlier.

Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has rejected a $3.6 billion takeover offer from JetBlue Airways. This is because it is judged that the possibility of approval from the US aviation authority is not high.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and other media on the 2nd, Spirit Airlines rejected the proposal in a letter to JetBlue saying it would be difficult to get approval from the authorities, and said that it would continue to pursue a merger with Frontier Air. said it would

JetBlue previously made a $3.6 billion merger bid to acquire Spirit Airlines and offered up to $200 million in fees if it doesn’t get approval from the authorities This would be difficult, the Spirit Airlines board judged.

“After a thorough review and extensive dialogue with JetBlue, the Board of Directors has concluded that JetBlue’s proposal entails an acquisition risk that is difficult to assume for Spirit shareholders,” said Mac Gardner, Chairman of Spirit.

In March, low-cost carriers Frontier and Spirit Airlines agreed to a merger, after which JetBlue made a larger takeover bid to Spirit.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has again recommended that the use of masks on public transportation is mandatory despite the court’s restraint.

The CDC announced on the 3rd that it has issued guidelines for people 2 years of age and older to wear a face mask that fits well in public transportation and indoor facilities such as airplanes, trains, buses, airports and train stations.

The CDC explained that the recommendation was taken in consideration of the domestic and international spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the impact of the appearance of mutations, and future trends.

Masks have been used as a tool to block the spread of virus-infected droplets from exposure to others.

Attention was paid to as a means to prevent infection caused by aerosol-type microscopic droplets floating in the air in a confined, narrow space.

“Masks protect you and those around you,” the CDC said in its advisory.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made it mandatory for passengers and crew members to wear masks in accordance with CDC recommendations.

The CDC has repeatedly recommended wearing a mask, but then extended the deadline in consideration of the public health situation. The latest deadline was today.

However, on the 18th of last month, a federal court in the conservative state of Florida issued a ruling invalidating the extension of the CDC’s mandatory mask wearing.

The main reason for the decision was that it was unclear that public health would be improved by mandatory wearing of masks, as masks themselves do not have the ability to purify viruses.

According to a court ruling, the TSA immediately halted the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport.

However, the CDC emphasized that it is still necessary to wear a mask, and the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the court ruling based on this assessment.

Public health experts believe that the spread of COVID-19 in the United States has passed its peak and vaccines have been distributed, but public health risks exist because of the vulnerable population.

CDC Director Rochelle Wallensky said: “It’s important to be considerate not only of yourself, but also those who are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill (if infected) and those who are not yet vaccinated. “He said.

South Africa joins the growing list of countries with air activity affected by fuel problems. United Airlines has informed its customers and collaborators of the cancellation of the flights scheduled until May 1 to the city of Johannesburg, where Iberia also has a presence (Peru, without fuel for the planes to fly).

In a message addressed to the travel agency channel to which Preferential access has been given, the American airline explains that it has been forced to adopt this measure due to “fuel supply problems”, without giving further details.

It offers travelers two options: delay the day of departure at no cost or request a refund of the ticket. As this newspaper has been publishing, fuel problems are challenging aviation.

The reasons have been diverse: the increase in the prices of certain materials, the reduction in production due to the crisis that the sector was going through and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, among others. In general, it is usually the poorest countries that have the least capacity to react to solve this type of situation.

The airlines present in Florida experienced a significant rebound in their activities last winter, enough to make people forget the bad days of COVID-19. They face huge travel demand, according to Henry Harteveldt, industry analyst at Atmosphere Research. In the long term, the industry expects a continued increase in this demand.

The difficulty now is that these companies have failed to replenish their workforces. Several employees are no longer there. That’s why some airlines, serving Fort Lauderdale and Miami, have no choice but to scale back their flight schedules for the summer, despite high demand.

JetBlue Airways, one of the carriers with the largest presence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, said it was cutting flights by eight to 10 percent for the spring and summer. “Despite hiring 3,000 new crew members this year, we remain staff limited […] By reducing our summer flying schedule and continuing to hire new crew members, we hope to have more leeway in the system to mitigate the effects of delays and cancellations […],” the company said in a statement.

Allegiant said it will also reduce the number of flights for next summer. Spirit Airlines is currently evaluating its flight offer, according to its spokesman Erik Hofmeyer.

American Airlines, which flies to South Florida’s three airports, said it made changes to its summer schedules but did not say whether flight reductions were part of its measures.

Delta Air Lines says it hasn’t cut flights yet: “…we haven’t made any schedule adjustments based on staffing…said spokesperson Morgan Durrant. A situation deplored by Delta’s chief pilot, Evan Baach: “We are tired and frustrated because we have worked a record number of overtime hours just to maintain this schedule. “. The company is seeing unprecedented demand for travel over the coming summer.

The objective of reducing supply with certain carriers is to enable them to better manage demand. This improvement should translate into greater response efficiency during difficulties inherent in air transport. Difficulties encountered can range from bad weather to air traffic control problems to technological failures.

The aim is to ensure that there are sufficient human resources available to cover the various disruptions. These reductions are in the interest of customers and of crew members who have to assume excessively heavy workloads, according to the chief of pilots at Delta Air Lines.

Those who want to come to Florida next summer will be able to do so but may have to plan earlier.

Easter is right around the corner and while snowbirds in Florida return to their northern fold, a lot of travel is expected in the United States during the Easter period, like a post-pandemic effect.

The New York Times published an article on the subject last month, reporting that a significant increase in travel bookings, for the spring and summer seasons, had been seen by travel agents and operators. And the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), representing the global travel and tourism industry, predicts that bookings during the Easter period will increase by 130% compared to the same period in 2021. In sum, the WTTC not only expects outbound travel from the United States to increase, but also that travel and tourism to the United States will reach pre-pandemic levels in the current year, which could contribute about $2 trillion to the country’s economy. After two lean years, it’s rather welcome to fill the basket!

Relaxed restrictions

The easing of restrictions related to COVID-19, which is more part of everyday life around the world, is of course playing in the balance and gives hope to the travel industry of a strong comeback this year. According to the New York Times, the latter is already observing a marked interest among travellers for distant international destinations as well as for European cities. The article quotes the WTTC President and Chief Executive Officer as saying: “As travel restrictions ease and consumer confidence returns, we expect a welcome release from pent-up travel and demand. And the Easter celebrations can well testify to this! According to a report from Station 10 Tampa Bay, spring travel trends are expected to even surpass pre-pandemic trends. The expected phenomenon is due to more remote workers, giving parents and young adults the opportunity to travel this spring and summer. And we all know Florida is a real hot spot for that.

Numbers

In 2021, Florida welcomed approximately 122.3 million tourists, which is lower than the 2019 number of 131.069 million, but still up 54% from 2020. Of the 122.3 million travellers who visited the Sunshine State in 2021, 4.958 million of them were international tourists compared to 2.047 million in 2020, but down from the 9.801 million international tourists who visited the Status in 2019.

Canadian visitors

In 2021, only 580,000 Canadians visited Florida, compared to 1.358 million in 2020 and 4.988 million in 2019. If the predictions are good in terms of spring trends that should even exceed those before the pandemic, Florida will be filled with visitors from Canada who may come and eat their choco there or visit the Sunshine State in the summer!

New York State is again emerging as a “hotspot” for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing across the U.S., with the majority of counties at high risk of COVID-19 concentrated in New York State.

New York State has 10 out of 14 counties designated as “high” in the nation’s COVID-19 risk level by counties released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 19th.

Based on the number of new confirmed cases per 100,000 population and inpatients, the CDC evaluates and announces three levels of COVID-19 risk by county: low, medium, and high.

Newly released statistics show that only 14 counties in the country are rated at risk, of which more than 70% are in New York State.

Counties rated as high risk for COVID-19 in New York State are mostly western and northern regions, which are a significant distance from New York City. However, concerns are being raised about the rapidly rising risk of COVID-19 across New York State.

According to provincial government statistics, on the 13th of last month, the average number of new confirmed cases per 100,000 people on 7 days was 8.2, the lowest in eight months. However, it has increased rapidly since then, and now stands at 30.7.

In New York City, the situation is getting progressively worse.

Among the five boroughs in New York City, Manhattan was rated as “moderate” at risk of COVID-19. According to the city’s health department, in some parts of Manhattan, the confirmed rate of COVID-19 is over 15%. The other four, including Queens, are still at a ‘low’ level.

In this regard, New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Bashan recommended the use of face masks in all indoor areas.

Nassau County, outside New York City, and Bergen County, New Jersey, also had a “moderate” risk.

In addition to the significant increase in the number of stealth omicron (BA.2) infections, the proportion of new sub-variants BA.2. The fact that there is is cited as a factor.

In particular, according to CDC statistics, the BA.2.12.1 mutation, which is known to be more contagious than Omicron, is becoming the dominant species, accounting for more than 52% of the Corona 19 strains currently spreading in New York.

ABC News reported on the 12th that U.S. airline passengers and public transportation users will continue to wear masks.

The Biden administration said the federal government’s mandatory in-flight mask wear, which is due to expire on the 18th, is currently being reviewed by the CDC based on scientific evidence, and new travel guidelines are likely to be extended.

As the mandatory indoor mask measures have been lifted across the United States, representatives of major airlines have requested the White House to withdraw the mandatory measures for air passengers to wear masks and the mandatory COVID-19 testing for foreigners entering the United States.

However, the CDC is considering extending the compulsory wearing of masks for aircraft and public transport users as there have been recent warnings that COVID-19 may re-spread and the rate of stealth omicron (BA.2) detection in the United States has increased. In fact, after European airlines lifted the mandatory in-flight masks, the number of employees confirmed to have COVID-19 surged.