Airline chiefs urge end to UK-US travel restrictions

The heads of all passenger airlines flying between Britain and the United States called on Monday for both countries to lift trans-Atlantic travel restrictions put in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. High vaccination rates in both countries meant travel could restart safely after more than a year of restrictions, said the CEOs of American Airlines, BA, Delta, United and JetBlue in a rare joint virtual press conference. The push came days ahead of this week’s meetings between US President Joe Biden and British PM Boris Johnson at the G7 meeting of advanced economies this week in Cornwall, southwest England. US and UK airline officials told Reuters they do not expect Washington to lift restrictions until around July 4 at the earliest as the administration aims to get more Americans vaccinated. BA CE Sean Doyle said lifting restrictions is essential. “I think there’s much more at stake here than a holiday, it’s about trade, it’s about visiting friends and relatives, and it’s about getting back and doing business and re-employing people,” Doyle said. Since March 2020, the United States has barred nearly all non-US citizens who have been in the United Kingdom within the previous 14 days from entering the country. Most US travellers visiting the United Kingdom must quarantine for 10 days upon arrival.<br/>