Airlines for American has joined a group of American and British aviation, travel, and tourism groups urging President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to open critical aviation markets as soon as safely possible.
In a letter to the two leaders on May 3, A4A and more than four dozen groups praised the vaccine effort in both countries and asked Biden and Johnson to discuss fully re-opening the U.S.-UK air travel market for both U.S. and U.K. citizens. The groups pledged their support to both governments to secure a positive outcome.
“We commend the enormous success of your respective vaccine programs. In the U.S., as of April 26, 36 percent of the adult population (age 16 and over) have been fully vaccinated, and 53 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine,” the group said in its letter. “In the UK, as of April 26, 23 percent of the adult population (age 16 and over) have been fully vaccinated, and 62 percent have received at least one dose. The trend for both countries is to have all adults who want a vaccination have at least their first dose by the end of July. It is this success that now marks a significant opportunity for the UK and U.S. to lead the world by demonstrating how to re-open this crucial air corridor safely.”
The coalition said that with testing capability in place, added to the vaccine rollout, restrictions to travel between the two countries should be lifted.
Lifting the travel restrictions would spur economic recovery from COVID-19, the groups said. Air travel generated $273 billion in 2019 and included the transport of 900,000 tons of air cargo. Returning business travelers to the skies is essential, the groups said, to secure future investment in the economy.
Additionally, the groups said, travel and tourism are essential economic engines in both countries, accounting for 8.6 percent of the U.S. economy and 10.1 percent of the UK economy. Visitors from the UK were the second-largest source of inbound international tourism revenue for the U.S. economy. Visitors from the United States to the UK were the largest source of revenue for the British economy. Travel, tourism, and hospitality were among the hardest hit sectors of both economies.
“If travel restrictions are lifted by this June, we expect the market will start to recover and approach 70 percent of 2019 levels by the end of the year buoyed primarily by summer season traffic,” the groups said in their letter. “According to a study by Compass Lexecon, a reopened corridor could respectively generate 3.7 billion USD and 1.9 billion GBP in incremental activity this summer for both economies and help to restore lost jobs in the hospitality sector. By contrast, ongoing restrictions through the end of 2021 will result in billions in lost economic activity.”
Members of the coalition included A4A, Aerospace Industries Association, Heathrow Airport, International Flight Services Association, Travelers United, the U.S. Chamber, and Virgin Atlantic.