BA presses UK for clear plan to reopen travel

BA called on PM Boris Johnson’s government to set a firm plan for resuming international flights, including timelines and conditions that the airline can use to plan ahead for the summer season. IAG’s flagship airline is seeing a “great demand to travel and a real desire to allow British people to travel,” said Sean Doyle, BA’s CEO. “But we do see the need for rapid action and for global coordination.” With infection rates falling, Johnson said in February that the country could reopen international travel from May 17 at the earliest. That’s raised expectations, and Doyle’s comments are intended to gain more certainty from the government on April 12, when a task-force report on the plan is due. The CEO wants enough clarity to start rebuilding BA’s flight schedule, which has been decimated by the pandemic for almost a year. “We’ve got planning windows which run into months, not weeks,” Doyle said. “We know that people want to travel, we know countries want to accept travelers, and we believe that with testing, with vaccination and technology, we can enable that in a way that’s seen as frictionless and will allow the industry to get back on its feet again.”<br/>