The two US airlines that fly between the US and southern Africa will be affected by the new restrictions.
The only American airlines that serve South Africa are United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Both airlines currently fly to South Africa's largest city, while United was going to resume flights to Cape Town in December.
Delta told Insider that they are not planning any service changes at the moment.
The health and safety of employees and customers is Delta's top priority. The new COVID-19 variant and travel restrictions will be closely monitored by Delta.
Insider asked United if the travel restrictions would affect its flights.
The two airlines, among the largest international carriers in the US, had both flown to South Africa prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic. South Africa reopened its borders to international visitors in 2021.
Delta resumed the route between Atlanta and South Africa on August 1, 2020. The Atlanta-Johannesburg route is the longest in the Delta network and is served by an A350-900 XWB aircraft, one of the newest in the airline's fleet.
During the H1N1 epidemic, United launched its route between Newark and Johannesburg in June as part of a minor expansion to Africa. The flights between Washington and Lagos, Nigeria are scheduled to start on November 29.
The new US travel restrictions do not affect Nigeria or Ghana.
The route between Newark and Cape Town was temporarily suspended in December of last year due to the Pandemic. It's not clear whether flights will resume on December 1 given the new restrictions.
The longest routes in United's network are the two United routes, with each boasting a distance of over 7,000 nautical miles.
The US and other southern African countries are not currently served by any airlines.
The airlines haven't yet announced flights for Americans to return home without having to transit through third countries. Two global airlines that earned a reputation for flying repatriation flights during the early months of the Pandemic have decided not to fly travelers from some southern African countries.
South African Airways stopped flying between the US and South Africa on March 29, 2020 due to the Pandemic and has not resumed flights because of its financial restructuring initiatives.
Foreign nationals and American citizens will need to show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flight. The vaccine status of the traveler will affect the validity of the test.
Travelers who are notvaccinated will need to take a test no more than one day before travel. Travelers who are vaccinated will need to be tested no later than three days before departure.
