Outbound flights are going to get a hell of a lot more expensive if all the planes have to return to the US empty.

Nah, all planes are just going to be routed through a non-European destination en route back. The Azores are about to be very popular.

It's about whether you've been to Europe at all in the 14 days preceding, not about whether your immediate origin was European.

And for Schengen, you'll have a stamp in and out (assuming 1 passport).

No Schengen stamps if you already live in the Schengen area. Unless there is data sharing the US gov wouldn’t be able to see it from a passport.

I suppose it will be another question on the form. Next to ‘I am not a terrorist’

As a side-note: I saw the forms that my great grandparents had to fill out when entering the US from Europe back in 1905 or thereabouts. There was a checkbox for "anarchist"

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

The ban is on the Schengen area, which does include the Azores.

I live on an island. There are all sorts of weird legal things that play out on these bits of rock. I suspect that there are all sorts of lawyers reading interesting bits of definitions of treaties and history right now.

The Azores is part of Portugal, which is on the travel ban list.

They don't need to be routed through a non-European destination. Crew are exempt. The airlines will just deny boarding to people subject to the ban (which is non-exempt people who have been in Schengen in the last 14 days, not people who just came from there).

It's not a flight ban it's based on the physical presence of the traveller

The Azores are in Europe.

or Britain, or Turkey

Turkey is also erecting public event suspension (trade fairs and large ceremonies cancelled by today), so not going to work.

doesn't mean you can't fly to the US from there.

Not to mention probably there's only a small use case of going to Europe without needing to return.

US citizens can always return though. It's kind of unconstitutional to stop them from returning.

Just because citizens can legally return does not mean that doing so is viable or economical - the government has no legal obligation to make sure there are 1) flights to and from the US that 2) are affordable. Those are going to be the big issues.

> It's kind of unconstitutional to stop them from returning.

Sort of. The trick is to get the airline overseas to refuse boarding. (Probably) not unconstitutional because it's not US soil.

Just like how the US directs airlines overseas to refuse boarding if you show a US birth certificate and photo ID instead of a US passport.

There is the small matter of a 2-week quarantine upon return though.

Would assume that any flights booked in under 30 days before travel will be expensive no matter what the situation.

Dangerous assumption -- most domestic and international flights are the cheapest I have ever seen them.

I mean generally, if booking flights for the next week (in general) they are expensive.

Yes, in non-pandemic times that is true. :)

He made several errors. He also said Europe minus the UK was banned, but it's actually the Schengen Area.