Officials in the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies are talking with their counterparts in England hoping to create a ‘travel bubble’ between New York City and London in time for the holidays.
According to the Wall Street Journal, officials are also looking to shorten the quarantine period. American citizens traveling to Great Britain currently must quarantine for 14 days and cannot further travel in the European Union. The U.S. prohibits entry to travelers from the U.K. and Europe unless they are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
The idea of an ‘air bridge’ between the two cities was first reported in September.
The plan would require travelers to be tested both before their flight and again upon arrival, allowing them to avoid lengthy quarantine periods.
A Homeland Security official told FOX Business the agency’s work to “safely encourage transatlantic travel while mitigating public-health risks” was in its early stages.
But they want this to happen by the lucrative holiday period of Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s.
A Transportation Department spokesman told FOX Business the agency is ready to support the effort and that talks with international and industry counterparts are ongoing.
An Airlines for America spokesperson told FOX Business that U.S. airlines are committed to restoring international service in a manner that prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of passengers and employees.
“To ensure a healthy and safe trip while opening international markets, A4A, along with other aviation stakeholders, strongly supports international COVID-19 testing pilot programs for passenger travel,” the spokesperson added. “A testing framework that ensures rapid, accurate, affordable and scalable testing should eliminate the need for mandatory quarantines upon arrival and speed the global recovery of commercial air travel.”
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