UK aviation chiefs urge swift opening of travel corridor with US
The CEs of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Heathrow airport have called for a travel corridor with the US to be opened as soon as next month, in a push to restart the industry’s most lucrative routes following more than a year of disruption. In a rare joint plea to UK prime minister Boris Johnson, the bosses of the three companies said rapid vaccination programmes meant restarting transatlantic flying should be a priority when borders open. “There is a great opportunity here to focus on the corridor between the US and the UK . . . the US has a hugely successful vaccination programme,” said Shai Weiss, CE of Virgin Atlantic. The PM this week outlined cautious plans to reopen international travel. This will include the introduction of a traffic light system to grade destinations on vaccination progress, Covid-19 infection rates and the prevalence of virus variants. With their most important routes on the line, the travel industry is pushing for the US to be put on the “green list” immediately, which would mean returning passengers would not have to quarantine, although they would still need to take Covid-19 tests before departure and after arrival. Aviation bosses have also written to the prime minister to warn expensive testing requirements could kill off demand for travel before the summer even begins. EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren said cheaper lateral flow tests should be used instead of expensive PCR tests. In response, Johnson said: “The boss of easyJet is right to focus on this issue. We’re going to see what we can do to make things as flexible and as affordable as possible.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-04-07/general/uk-aviation-chiefs-urge-swift-opening-of-travel-corridor-with-us
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UK aviation chiefs urge swift opening of travel corridor with US
The CEs of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Heathrow airport have called for a travel corridor with the US to be opened as soon as next month, in a push to restart the industry’s most lucrative routes following more than a year of disruption. In a rare joint plea to UK prime minister Boris Johnson, the bosses of the three companies said rapid vaccination programmes meant restarting transatlantic flying should be a priority when borders open. “There is a great opportunity here to focus on the corridor between the US and the UK . . . the US has a hugely successful vaccination programme,” said Shai Weiss, CE of Virgin Atlantic. The PM this week outlined cautious plans to reopen international travel. This will include the introduction of a traffic light system to grade destinations on vaccination progress, Covid-19 infection rates and the prevalence of virus variants. With their most important routes on the line, the travel industry is pushing for the US to be put on the “green list” immediately, which would mean returning passengers would not have to quarantine, although they would still need to take Covid-19 tests before departure and after arrival. Aviation bosses have also written to the prime minister to warn expensive testing requirements could kill off demand for travel before the summer even begins. EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren said cheaper lateral flow tests should be used instead of expensive PCR tests. In response, Johnson said: “The boss of easyJet is right to focus on this issue. We’re going to see what we can do to make things as flexible and as affordable as possible.”<br/>
