Major airline groups push for end to coronavirus quarantines, travel bans

The US, state governments and some foreign countries should replace quarantines and travel bans on airline passengers with COVID-19 testing of travelers before departure and upon arrival, airline and business groups said on Thursday. They said the move would boost US international air travel, which is down 78% year-over-year for the most recent seven-day period, according to airline industry data. The groups, which include the IATA, Airlines for America, the US Chamber of Commerce, airline unions and the US Travel Association, called on the Trump administration, state governors and international partners “to pursue a risk-based and data-driven approach to COVID-19 testing which would obviate the need for quarantines and travel bans so that the travel network can be safely re-opened.” The groups added that “travel quarantines are decimating our industry.” Currently, 18 US states have some type of quarantine for arriving travelers, the groups said. Hawaii last week began allowing airline passengers who tested negative for COVID-19 to avoid a two-week mandatory quarantine upon arrival. The United States still has in place entry bans on nearly all non-US citizens who recently were in China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Iran and countries in the so-called Schengen border-free area of Europe. Nearly all of Europe still bans most US travelers, while the UK allows Americans to visit but requires a two-week quarantine upon arrival.<br/>