IATA hails ‘major step forward’ for transatlantic travel recovery
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the decision by the Biden Administration to enable vaccinated travelers to enter the US with a negative Covid-19 test result prior to travel from early November.
It supersedes the previous restrictions which prevented anyone from entering the US if they had been in 33 specific countries including the UK, Ireland, all Schengen countries, Brazil, South Africa, India, and China within the past 14 days.
"Today’s announcement is a major step forward. Allowing access to the US for those vaccinated will open travel to the US for many who have been locked out for the past 18 months," said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
"It’s good for the millions of livelihoods in the US that depend on global tourism and it will boost the economic recovery by enabling some key business travel markets," he added.
"This announcement marks a key shift in managing the risks of Covid-19 from blanket considerations at the national level to assessment of individual risk. The next challenge is finding a system to manage the risks for travelers who do not have access to vaccinations."
Although it’s still unclear how much the global business travel market will recover, American Express Global Business Travel is relieved that businesses can start planning trips again with more certainty.
"After more than 550 days of shut borders, we are thrilled that the US will finally be reopening to fully vaccinated travelers from the UK and EU," said Andrew Crawley, American Express Global Business Travel Chief Commercial Officer.
"There is huge pent-up demand for transatlantic travel among our customers and we fully expect to see a sustained spike in bookings. It is a positive step forward for global economic recovery and we await further details from the White House."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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