英国退出欧盟终于来了。英国将于1月31日正式离开欧盟。这一重大变化将对计划去欧洲旅行的美国游客，尤其是那些计划在英国停留的游客，造成旅游问题的连锁反应。虽然英国将处于从2月1日到12月31日的过渡期，但英国退出欧盟出台的任何新的旅行规定将从2021年开始适用。
对所有欧洲人来说，这一有争议的出境将不可避免地意味着与旅行相关的后勤困难，申根地区不再有免签证旅行(其余22个欧盟国家以及冰岛、挪威、瑞士和列支敦士登)。
但是英国退出欧盟也会对访问英国和欧洲其他国家的美国人产生影响。在这里，我们来看看美国游客在英国退出欧盟之后如果要去英国应该知道些什么。
航班取消和延误
美国人计划在欧洲其他地方旅行前在英国中途停留，可能会受到航班延误和取消的影响。
继英国退出欧盟之后，英国成为欧洲共同航空区(ECAA)成员国之间“开放天空”协议的一部分，该协议允许ECAA成员国之间的空中旅行，其中包括欧盟国家和其他几个国家。
随着英国不再是ECAA的一部分，航空公司需要获得飞往欧盟国家的许可，而欧盟国家的航空公司也需要获得飞往英国的许可。如果在预定起飞前未能及时获得许可，几个航班可能会被推迟甚至停飞，直到获得许可。
然而，从美国直接前往欧盟国家的游客不会因为英国退出欧盟现有的欧盟和美国之间的航空运输协议允许所有跨大西洋航线向欧盟和美国航空公司开放。
同样，计划只去英国旅行的游客也不必担心英国退出欧盟事件后的飞行规则变化。虽然美国是英国航空旅行协议在欧盟成员资格下涵盖的17个非欧盟国家之一，但2018年11月，英国建立了一个单独的航空服务协议美国允许两国间的跨大西洋航班不受英国退出欧盟事件的影响。
更贵的航班
自2016年英国退出欧盟投票以来，美国人一直在利用英镑变弱的优势。英国国家统计局此前报告称2017年前三个月来英国的游客增加了21%，花了创纪录的钱。
据2019年1月至9月的最新国际乘客调查显示，据报道，美国人在英国花费了约44亿美元，在此期间，英国共接待了350万来自美国的游客VisitBritain。
但从英国飞往欧盟国家的美国人很可能面临航班价格上涨的问题，因为欧洲航空公司将不得不支付更多费用才能在英国领空飞行，这不再是允许自由旅行的开放天空协议的一部分。因此，航空公司可能被迫通过提高英国和欧盟国家之间的机票价格来买单。
机场等待时间更长
从2021年开始，英国护照持有者将不得不在欧洲机场与美国游客排队等候非欧盟护照持有者，因此通关时间将比以前更长。
欧洲机场的延误也将导致官员们不得不仔细检查护照的到期日期。在英国退出欧盟之后，前往欧盟国家的英国游客需要在护照上留下至少六个月的时间才能获准旅行，而在此之前，官员只需检查护照是否过期。六个月护照规则也将适用于从英国前往欧盟国家的美国游客。
从好的方面来说，如果你只是打算去英国旅游，目前来英国旅游的美国游客不再需要填写入境卡，也可以进入自动电子护照(ePassport gates)，因此美国人不再需要排队等待英国海关官员的入境许可。“这些大门使用面部识别技术来对照护照上的照片检查你的身份，”the英国内政部政府网站注意，所以它只需要在门口扫描护照。
但是要使用电子护照，你必须年满12岁(如果你在12岁到17岁之间，你必须有一个成年人陪同)，并且要有一个有效的签证或生物识别居留许可和一个上面有“芯片”的护照。内政部补充说，你的护照在你逗留期间也必须有效。
2019年7月16日，抵达伦敦希思罗机场2号航站楼时，护照标志指示护照检查处的乘客。
更贵的酒店
尽管由于英镑疲软，飞往英国的航班可能会更便宜，但美国人也可能不得不与英国国内的旅行者竞争，这些旅行者可能会选择在英国“呆在家里”，因为他们通常的欧洲度假现在更贵，而且在英国退出欧盟之后更像是一场后勤噩梦，英国和欧盟国家之间不再有免签证旅行。因此，对英国酒店的需求可能会随着英国退出欧盟的房价上涨而攀升。欧洲其他地方的酒店可能也是如此。
酒店客人还可能承担在英国酒店工作的更高工资成本。酒店可能被迫提供更高的工资，为欧洲人申请英国工作提供更多激励，以保持酒店员工数量。由于欧盟公民不再被允许免签证在英国生活和工作，这一数量可能会减少
额外的安全检查
与英国退出欧盟无关，但从明年开始，前往欧盟国家的美国游客必须在欧洲旅行信息和授权系统(ETIAS)注册。新系统旨在为免签证进入欧盟国家的旅行者(如美国旅行者)提供额外的安全措施。
“从2021年开始，欧盟委员会将为目前不属于欧盟的国家的游客推出美国风格的电子旅行授权系统。由于这些游客在安全问题上的良好记录，他们已获准免签证进入欧盟和申根成员国，因此没有被视为对欧盟安全的威胁ETIAS解释。
“然而，欧盟希望加强边境安全，并对进出欧盟国家的旅客进行数字筛查和跟踪。”
“根据《欧洲旅游签证法》，这些游客在获准进入欧盟之前将接受额外的安全检查，”它补充道。
HOW WILL BREXIT AFFECT YOUR EUROPEAN VACATION?
Brexit is finally here. Britain is officially leaving the European Union (EU) today, January 31. This major change will cause a ripple effect of travel issues for American tourists planning a trip to Europe, especially those planning a stop in Britain. While the U.K. will be in a transition period from February 1 to December 31, any new travel regulations that come with Brexit will apply from 2021.
The controversial exit will inevitably mean travel-related logistical difficulties for all Europeans, with there being no more visa-free travel within the Schengen area (the 22 remaining EU countries as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein).
But Brexit will also have consequences for Americans visiting Britain and the rest of Europe. Here we look at what U.S. travelers should know if they're heading to Britain post-Brexit.
Flight cancellations and delays
Americans planning on a stopover in Britain before traveling elsewhere in Europe may be subject to flight delays and cancellations.
Post Brexit, Britain is longer part of an "open skies" agreement among countries with the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA), which includes EU states and a few other nations, that allows air travel between ECAA member countries.
With Britain no longer being a part of the ECAA, airlines will need to seek permission to fly to an EU country, while carriers in EU countries will need to do the same for flights to the U.K. If permissions aren't granted in time before scheduled departures, several flights may either be delayed or even grounded until permissions are granted.
Tourists traveling directly to an EU country from the U.S., however, will not experience any changes because of Brexit due to an existing air transport agreement between the EU and the U.S. which allows all transatlantic routes to be opened up to EU and US airline companies.
Likewise, tourists who plan on traveling only to Britain will also need not worry about flight regulation changes after Brexit. While the U.S. is among the 17 non-EU countries where Britain's air travel agreements are covered under EU membership, in November 2018 the U.K. established a separate air service agreement with the U.S. that allows transatlantic flights between the two countries to remain unaffected following Brexit.
More expensive flights
Americans have been taking advantage of the pound becoming weaker since the Brexit vote in 2016. The U.K. Office for National Statistics previously reported that 21 percent more visitors came to the U.K. in the first three months of 2017, spending a record amount of money.
Americans reportedly spent around $4.4 billion in the U.K. between January and September in 2019, with the country having received a total of 3.5 million visits from the U.S. in that period, according to the latest International Passenger Survey from VisitBritain.
But Americans traveling from Britain to an EU country are likely to face hiked flight prices because European airlines will have to pay more fees to fly within U.K. airspace, which is no longer part of an open skies agreement allowing free travel. Therefore, airlines may be forced to foot the bill by increasing air fares for passengers traveling between Britain and the EU countries.
Longer wait times at airports
From 2021, British passport holders will have to join American travelers on queues for non-EU passport holders at European airports, so getting through customs will take longer than before.
Airport delays in Europe will also result from officials having to take a closer look at the expiration dates of passports. After Brexit, British travelers visiting an EU country will need to have at least six months left on their passports to be allowed to travel, whereas before officials only needed to check that the passport hadn't expired. The six-month passport rule will also apply to American tourists traveling to an EU country from Britain.
On the upside, if you're only planning to visit Britain, at the moment American tourists visiting the U.K. no longer need to fill out landing cards and can access automatic ePassport gates, so Americans no longer need to queue to be approved for entry by a U.K. customs officer. "These gates use facial recognition technology to check your identity against the photo in your passport," the U.K. Home Office government website notes, so it only requires passports to be scanned at the gate.
But to use the ePassport gates, you must be aged 12 or over (if you're between 12 and 17, you must be accompanied by an adult) as well as have a valid visa or a biometric residence permit and a passport with a 'chip' on it. Your passport must also be valid for the duration of your stay, the Home Office adds.
Passport signs directing passengers pictured at the passport control in arrivals in Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport in London on July 16, 2019.
More expensive hotels
While flights to Britain might be cheaper due to the weaker pound, Americans may also have to compete with U.K. domestic travelers who are likely to opt for "staycations" at home in Britain due to their usual European vacations now being more expensive and more of a logistical nightmare following Brexit, with there no longer being visa-free travel between the U.K. and EU countries. Therefore, the demand for U.K. hotels is likely to climb with Brexit, which will come with rising prices. This may be the same case for hotels in the rest of Europe.
Hotel guests may also bear the cost of higher pay offered for jobs at hotels in the U.K. Hotels may be forced to offer higher wages to provide more incentives for Europeans to apply for U.K. jobs to maintain hotel staff numbers, which is likely to dwindle due to EU citizens no longer being allowed to live and work visa-free in the U.K.
Additional security screening
Unrelated to Brexit but also in effect from next year, it will be mandatory for U.S. travelers heading to an EU country to register for the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). The new system is designed to be an extra security measure for travelers who have visa-free access to countries in the EU, such as U.S. travelers.
"Starting in 2021, the European Commission will roll out a U.S. style electronic travel authorization system for visitors from countries that are currently not part of the EU. These visitors have been granted visa-free access to the EU and Schengen member countries through virtue of their good track record on security issues and, thus, have not been deemed as a threat to EU security," the ETIAS explains.
"However, the EU is wanting to strengthen its border security as well as digitally screen and track travelers entering and leaving EU countries."
"Under the ETIAS, these visitors will undergo additional security checks prior to being permitted to enter into the EU," it adds.
