White House to lift UK Travel Ban before Christmas

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The industry and aviation experts have said US President Donald Trump could lift the US travel ban before Christmas. The ban was blocking Americans from flying to the UK and Europe. The DHS has a recommendation on the move and could be authorized by the executive order of the President on Tuesday. Point to be noted that President Trump banned travel to Britain, Ireland, and 26 other European countries at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, the White House was reportedly considering rescinding entry bans for most non-US citizens across Europe and Brazil. Since then, there has been no decision by President Trump. But, the UK officials have held a series of high-level talks with the White House and other US officials.

A spokesperson for the UK Department for Transport said, “Restarting transatlantic flights is of critical importance to the economic recovery of the UK and the US, the airline industry and for British nationals, most of whom cannot enter the US. British officials continue to pursue the resolution to this issue”. It is noteworthy that the US airlines have been hit hard during the pandemic. So, lifting the restrictions would be seen as a lifeline as international travel has fallen by 70%. Florida governor Ron DeSantis said in October that he had urged Trump to ease travel restrictions from Europe and Brazil to help boost the state’s struggling tourism economy. Airlines for America is a group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others.

Last month, the group informed a news outlet that it has been advocating for the federal government to set a national standard on testing in order to lift travel restrictions. The UK also raised the possibility of using testing to establish a flight bubble between London and New York or easing travel restrictions for people who have been vaccinated. The US quarantine restrictions or test requirements would be left down to enter the US for British people to individual US states to determine imposing on non-US arrivals into the country. The UK requires any US or other arriving passengers from countries without a travel corridor to quarantine for 10 days unless they are tested negative from the 5^th day onwards. The US State Department has been granting to allow travelers from Europe related to humanitarian travel, public health response, and national security.