Britain's travel reopening not enough, say BA and Heathrow bosses

The bosses of British Airways and London's Heathrow Airport urged the UK government on Monday to open up more routes for travel, including to the US, and to simplify the testing hurdles needed to fly. Britain lifted a ban on international movement on Monday but the government has designated only 12 countries and territories safe for quarantine-free travel on its "green list", limiting any recovery in the industry. "What's crucial is that travel becomes easier for people," said BA CE Sean Doyle at a joint press conference. He said a meaningful return of flying this summer, needed to help airlines and travel companies survive after over a year of COVID-19 restrictions, would require the government to relax some measures. But there is scant political appetite for doing so. Ministers have said people should not go on holiday to countries which are not on the green list, and PM Boris Johnson said on Friday that it would not be extended any time soon because of the risk of new variants. Heathrow said the limited reopening meant that it had 11,000 people flying out on Monday, up from 7,000 a day last week but well below the 120,000 typical at this time of year pre-pandemic. BA said it was flying just a fraction of the 200 flights per day it would usually be operating in this period.<br/>