It will not be Portugal's independent decision on when people from the US will be allowed in. The EU will be making a global decision on the date. TAP will be transporting only Portuguese citizens and residents before then, as well as government workers, medical staff, etc. (And of course American citizens and residents in the other direction.)

“I remain optimistic ...” that the pandemic will be suppressed by restrictions on travel and social distancing measures taken around the world, and that we will all be able to travel again next year.

So I'm very unclear over how this will work. I thought the EU made recommendations but it was up to each country to decide how they will handle the reopening, including which countries will be allowed to enter and when. I thought that Portugal and Greece, for instance, have already set dates when non-EU members can enter their country (with or without restrictions).

I would like to understand this - I'm not asking for an opinion whether this is okay or not.

I sincerely hope this comes to happen Heimdall. Agree we need to exercise caution this year and control the outbreak...

From what I have read, the European Commission in Brussels will soon make a statement of "intent" for opening the outer borders. But what they say will not be an absolute rule and each EU or other Schengen country is free to make its own decision. However the increase of cases and deaths in certain countries will certainly be food for thought.

Thanks, kerouac.

Article from Conde Nast Traveler re Portugal

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/fli...-resume-june-4

Things like Condé Nast Traveler have to keep churning out articles no matter what.

Once you are in a Schengen country, you can easily travel to another one. So if Portugal allows visitors from outside the EU, they will be able to continue on to other countries, once the internal EU borders are open. I don't know how they plan to do this.

Seems like many EU countries are opening borders to other EU citizens in the next week or two. I guess they will look for spikes to see whether to allow "third-party nationals" or residents of countries outside the EU and Schengen in July or at a later date?

Greece and now Portugal have announced intentions to open to tourists from countries outside the EU/Schengen.

But if there are spikes in infections and deaths from opening up within the EU, of course those plans will all become null.

However there have been incidents of large gatherings or crowds at parks and beaches in the past month. Yet the overall trend in infections and deaths seem to be downward.

Just the fact that Portugal is forbidding flights from Italy and Spain says something. But that of course makes absolutely no sense if they are permitting flights from the US or the UK.

Is there something in there that is factually incorrect? Regardless of anyone's opinion as to whether it's a good idea or not?

So not official but EU is telling the media that at some point, EU will allow entry and travel within by travelers from outside the Schengen zone:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN23C1NE

Here is what TAP has posted for planned direct flights from the US, beginning July. Stay Tuned. I would be careful about booking anything connecting through the UK, at this point.

https://www.flytap.com/en-us/latest-...64401f-content

What would be the impact of a US citizen traveling while there is still a Global Health Level 4/Do Not Travel advisory?

While some countries are beginning to consider opening to the US in the near future with minimal if any restrictions (and will possibly open some more during the summer), how would that impact someone who chooses to ignore the advisory?

Again, I'm not saying it's okay, just wondering.

(edited)

Which countries have opened to the US, progol?

Oi, vey, I thought the meaning of my question was clear, even if I wasn’t literally accurate for this moment. I MEANT that it looks like Portugal, Greece, and perhaps Italy sometime in the not too distant future. And even if it’s later than right this moment, the question was about the US alert and its consequences for travelers.

I did not say any country was opened to the US right now. Mea culpa.

If a sanitary protocol is followed, it would appear that the United States, Brazil and Russia would be the very last countries allowed to enter the area of western Europe.

Iceland. We have a trip planned for August, but are changing it to next year. Only be cause of medical/travel insurance. Otherwise we would still go. There are 5 of us traveling, so we can't just willy nilly change our mind at the last minute to go as it is too hard to juggle 5 schedules. Every last thing was planned and paid for as it was a ring road trip, so quite extensive. It will be there for us next summer though, and we are adding even more days to it. It has been interesting to see how Iceland is opening up and what they are requiring etc.

Progol, from what I read in the Global Health Advisory, people who ignore it and travel anyway must be prepared not to receive support from the US embassies (repatriation flights, etc) should they become necessary. In other words, you are on your own, and could be stuck somewhere at your own expense if flights are suspended again. It’s not often one needs support from the embassy when travelling overseas, but in an emergency it may be essential. I wonder also if travel insurance companies would use that as an excuse to deny claims.