A coalition of airline and travel groups calls for the US and the UK to lift travel restrictions. The group cites the number of vaccinations made in both countries as their reason for the reopening. According to the group’s letter to President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leaders should announce the reopening before the G7 meeting in June. The G7 is going to have a meeting by June 11-13 in the UK.
According to the letter “We are confident that the right tools now exist to enable a safe and meaningful restart to transatlantic travel”. It added that “safety reopening borders between the US and UK is essential for both countries’ economic recovery from COVID19”. Once restrictions are lifted, “we expect the market will start to recover and approach 70 percent of 2019 levels”.
The letter was written by 49 industry groups along with unions from both US and the UK. Among industry organizations that signed the letter included the US Chamber of Commerce, Airlines for America, Association of UK Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air Line Pilots Association, and more.
According to industry officials in the UK, travel could resume as soon as this month. However, the White House still hasn’t made an announcement.
US-UK Travel Corridor
Many have already called for a US-UK travel corridor. The US banned the entry of non-US citizens that traveled to the UK since March 2020.
Before the pandemic, UK visitors were the second-largest source of inbound international tourism revenue for the US. On the other hand, US visitors contributed the highest for the UK’s international tourism revenue. More than 22 million travelers traveled between the US and the UK in 2019.
International travel is not yet back in full swing, but is it time to lift travel restrictions? Europe is slowly opening its borders. The executives of the European Union recommend easing travel restrictions among EU states to help boost the tourism industry this summer.
