EU expected to discuss reimposing travel curbs on US

The EU is likely to discuss reintroducing travel restrictions on visitors from the US next week as coronavirus case numbers rise again. The US has breached the threshold to be included among non-EU countries that enjoy unrestricted travel into the bloc, according to a person familiar with the situation. The EU lifted restrictions on the US in June, adding it to a list of countries from where non-essential travel into the bloc is allowed, after America’s epidemiological situation met the bloc’s criteria. But the latest data show the US is now well above the EU limit of no more than 75 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the previous 14 days. The rate is just under 270 cases per 100,000 and increasing, said the person. That’s driven a rapid rebound in the European aviation industry to almost 70% of pre-pandemic capacity, according to OAG data, even though the US hasn’t reciprocated on travel access. Routes between the EU and US have recovered to almost 50% of pre-pandemic levels after Brussels chose to let in fully vaccinated Americans. Removing restriction-free access to US travelers could be a major blow for carriers including the likes of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. The Biden administration has kept foreign travel restrictions in place despite pressure to allow visitors from places like the EU. US officials have cited rising delta variant cases as one reason for that decision. A spokeswoman for Airlines for Europe, a trade group that respresentes European airlines, said that despite the spread of the delta variant, “increasing vaccination levels means the incident rate should not be the only criteria dictating policy decisions.”<br/>