Major airline groups push for end to coronavirus quarantines, travel bans

The United States, state governments and a few overseas international locations ought to substitute quarantines and journey bans on airline passengers with Covid-19 testing of travellers earlier than departure and upon arrival, airline and enterprise teams stated on Thursday.

They stated the transfer would increase U.S. worldwide air journey, which is down 78% year-over-year for the newest seven-day interval, in response to airline trade information.

The teams, which embrace the International Air Transport Association, Airlines for America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, airline unions and the U.S. Travel Association, known as on the Trump administration, state governors and worldwide companions “to pursue a risk-based and data-driven approach to Covid-19 testing which would obviate the need for quarantines and travel bans so that the travel network can be safely re-opened.”

The teams added that “travel quarantines are decimating our industry.”

Currently, 18 U.S. states have some sort of quarantine for arriving travellers, the teams stated. Hawaii final week started permitting airline passengers who examined damaging for Covid-19 to keep away from a two-week obligatory quarantine upon arrival.

The United States nonetheless has in place entry bans on practically all non-U.S. residents who lately had been in China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Iran and international locations within the so-called Schengen border-free space of Europe.

Nearly all of Europe nonetheless bans most U.S. travellers, whereas the UK permits Americans to go to however requires a two-week quarantine upon arrival.

“The continued restrictions on international travel and differing state and international quarantine policies are hampering the recovery of the U.S. economy,” the letter added.

The Trump administration has been holding high-level discussions with international locations together with the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy about the opportunity of establishing “flight bubbles” that will enable journey or cut back quarantines if passengers agreed to Covid-19 checks earlier than departure and upon arrival.

Under dialogue are whether or not a quarantine would nonetheless be required, with some well being specialists within the Trump administration calling for a one-week quarantine, and what test could be used. Rising coronavirus infections in some international locations, such because the United States, pose a hurdle to lifting restrictions.

(This story has been printed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content.)

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