MINNEAPOLIS -- The new travel requirements for international flights went into effect Tuesday and there are some signs similar requirements could be coming for domestic flights. Right now anyone flying into the United States from another country has to have a negative COVID-19 test three to five days before boarding their flight.

Kyle Potter is the Executive Editor of ThriftyTraveler.com based in Minneapolis. He says a lot of international resorts and hotels have already set-up free tests on-site for their guests.

Just yesterday Hyatt was the first major international hotel chain to announce that all of its resorts throughout Latin America -- Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, South America -- will have free testing on-site for guests.

Potter says there is also an indication that similar domestic flight restrictions could be coming soon as well.

But the Biden administration has said they are considering adding some kind of testing requirements before domestic flights.  That's something we haven't seen in this country to this point.

Potter says some states like Hawaii, Alaska, and Maine do require a negative COVID-19 test for entry.

Earlier this week Sun Country Airlines announced a number of new direct flight options, including nine new routes out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Potter says, even though the airline industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn't surprise him that the Minneapolis-based airline is expanding its offerings. And, he says, the new destinations are a shift in where we want to go for vacation.

We see them now flying non-stop from Minneapolis to Jackson Hole in Wyoming and to Glacier National Park in Montana.  Huge outdoor destinations that previously just didn't have enough demand for Sun Country to justify sending a plane there and back.  But now that demand is clearly there.

Tuesday there were about 469,000 air travelers in the United States, the lowest that number has been since July 4th.

Potter says with more Americans getting vaccinated travel is going to eventually get better, but in the meantime, travel is going to get a lot harder.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

8 Things That Show Minnesotans are Tougher than Others

More From 96.7 The River