"My parents are on this BA flight!" one excited Reddit user exclaimed in a post commenting on the simultaneous takeoffs.

"My Mom and Grandma are on their flight from Germany. I just needed to share my joy for a second. I can't believe how long it's been since I got to see my grandma (mom had to fly to her to pick her up since she's not able to fly on her own anymore). I hope everyone gets to see their loved ones soon!" another Reddit user wrote.

"Still feels like a dream! I haven't seen my fiancé in 2 years, finally will be seeing him in 3 weeks. This made me emotional," wrote Reddit user Jessica S.

The border closures were imposed in early 2020 by then-president Donald Trump as the coronavirus spread.

The ban initially applied only to entry from China but soon was widened to include 33 countries: the European Union, UK, India and Brazil, and subsequently to overland visitors from Mexico and Canada.