EU diplomats agree on how to set common travel curbs for Covid

EU diplomats reached a deal on common thresholds for imposing bloc-wide travel curbs, such as requiring a negative Covid-test result or quarantine for visitors, according to a spokesman for the German government in Brussels. The non-binding guidelines, which ministers will formally sign off on Tuesday, could offer some relief to the continent’s battered airlines and travelers confused by the patchwork of country-by-country measures. Under the plan, restriction-free travel will be allowed between regions with fewer than 25 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people for the previous 14 days, and with fewer than 4% of virus tests giving positive results. A color-coded map of the 27 nation-EU -- plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland -- to be updated on a weekly basis, will show “green areas” between which travel is allowed without restrictions. The map will be published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, based on data provided by national authorities in each state. That could provide some relief to airlines. Uncoordinated announcements on quarantine requirements for incoming travelers and abrupt bans contributed to a drop in travel, adding to the woes of an industry already pummeled by its worst crisis on record. European airlines’ hopes for a bounceback have been dashed by rising case counts and a panoply of restrictions in countries such as the UK, Spain and France. <br/>