Industry associations and travel suppliers on
both sides of the Atlantic have written a joint letter to US President Joe
Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for the reopening of travel between
the US and the UK.
The signatories, which include the Institute of
Travel Management, the Business Travel Association, Heathrow Airport, Virgin Atlantic, Airlines for America and the GBTA, say that the success of the two countries’ vaccination programmes represents a significant
opportunity. Both the US and UK are on course to have all adults who want a vaccination
to have received one by the end of July.
The letter said, “We are confident that the
right tools now exist to enable a safe and meaningful restart to transatlantic
travel. US and UK citizens and residents should benefit from the significant
testing capability, and most importantly the vaccine roll-out, which means
people are benefiting from the protection of their health and the reduction in
transmission of Covid-19 that vaccination brings. These key tools were not
available to us last year when travel restrictions were implemented.”
The signatories said that trade and investment between
the two countries represented is worth more than a trillion pounds.
The letter added, “Returning business travellers
to the skies is essential to securing future investment in the world’s most
dynamic enterprises.”
Biden and Johnson are meeting in June ahead of the G7 Summit and the signatories said the meeting was an "ideal opportunity for a joint announcement of the full reopening of the US-UK air travel market".