Stock Groups

Airlines urge White House to end COVID international travel testing rules -Breaking

[ad_1]

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – Travelers in protective masks, to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), at Denver airport, Colorado, U.S.A, November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Major travel and business groups, as well as major airlines, urged Wednesday the White House to eliminate COVID-19 predeparture testing for international travelers traveling to the United States.

Airlines for America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called for changes in a letter addressed to Jeff Zients, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.

Pre-departure testing appears to be a major factor behind international travelers not choosing to fly. These people are not willing to accept the risk that they won’t be able to travel back to the U.S., they stated.

The White House did not respond to our request for comment. Airlines for America represents American Airlines (NASDAQ;), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:), United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:) among others. They stated that international airline travel had fallen 38% compared to 2019, as per last week’s Airlines for America report.

Deciding on tougher regulations, the Biden Administration imposed new requirements requiring all international passengers arriving to the United States for a COVID-19 negative test within one-day of their arrival.

According to previous rules, international travelers who have been vaccinated could submit a negative result within 3 days from their departure date.

Although the White House and Centers for Disease Control have previously contemplated, they never imposed any testing requirements for Americans boarding domestic flights.

It was noted in the letter that COVID-19 has been reported to have affected more than 74.3 Million Americans, which means that 22% or more of them are at risk.

“Clearly COVID is widespread throughout the U.S. and attempts to control its importation via air travel under today’s circumstances are unlikely to change that fact,” it said.

It added that if any new threats were discovered, “pre-departure tests could easily be reinstituted.”

According to the European Union, countries were urged to remove intra-European COVID travel restrictions. The UK will stop COVID predeparture testing of vaccinated passengers to fly into the country beginning February 11.

The groups said “travel and aviation’s recovery is dependent on the government taking steps to remove travel restrictions that are no longer justified by current circumstances.”

Disclaimer: Fusion MediaThis website does not provide accurate and current data. CFDs include stocks, indexes and futures. Prices are provided not by the exchanges. Market makers provide them. Therefore, prices can be inaccurate and differ from actual market prices. These prices should not be used for trading. Fusion Media is not responsible for trading losses that may be incurred as a consequence of the use of this data.

Fusion MediaFusion Media or any other person involved in the website will not be held responsible for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this information, including charts, buy/sell signals, and data. You should be aware of all the potential risks and expenses associated with trading in the financial market. It is among the most dangerous investment types.

[ad_2]