From today, fully vaccinated nationals of 33 countries – including the UK, Ireland and much of Europe – can enter the US as it lifts a 20-month-long ban on foreign visitors from those nations.
The long-awaited moment is expected to breathe new life into the beleaguered travel industry and mark the beginning of a meaningful recovery for corporate travel.
The US in the UK’s largest trading partner and in 2019 more than 22 million people and 900,000 tonnes of cargo flew between the two countries.
UK secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps said the reopening is a significant moment for the aviation sector: “Transatlantic travel has long been at the heart of UK aviation… these vitally important flight routes will help boost the economy, protect and create British jobs and through the work of the Jet Zero Council help to build back greener.”
Frits de Kok, interim managing director of FCM UK and global CMO, said: “This hugely significant and greatly anticipated move is a welcome milestone in the efforts to rebuild not just business travel but brings a much-needed boost to the industry that we’ve all been eagerly awaiting.”
Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic chief executive, said: “As the UK forges its recovery from the pandemic, the reopening of the transatlantic corridor and the lifting of Presidential Order 212F acknowledges the great progress both nations have made in rolling out successful vaccine programmes.
“The UK will now be able to strengthen ties with our most important economic partner, the US, through boosting trade and tourism.”
Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO at the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “Since the announcement last month that the US will open its borders to vaccinated travellers today, travel agent bookings for the US naturally increased for both leisure and business trips.
“Travel management companies booking business travel will be particularly relieved that finally the lucrative transatlantic corridor will once again be open which will certainly help to build their businesses back after such a turbulent time.”
Lo Bue-Said added that Advantage’s TMC members report “significant pent-up demand for corporate travel to the US”.
One TMC boss, Nicola Cox, director of MIDAS Travel, said the reopening of US borders had a greater effect than a jump in requests for transatlantic trips: “We’ve also noticed a wider impact as the announcement boosted confidence as a whole across the industry.”
However, Sarah Wilson, chief executive of Ace Travel Management warned “there is still a lack of confidence from UK travellers, both for business and leisure. The increasing rates of Covid are a cause for concern in terms of countries doing a sudden u-turn and shutting their borders again to UK travellers.
“That and the lack of confidence in the government to make timely and appropriate decisions I fear will halt travellers. There will be an element of ‘let some others try it first’ before we see any normal activity return.”
Several TMCs pointed out that many travellers are likely to have let their ESTA – for visa-free travel to the US – expire during the pandemic and reiterated the need for pre-travel Covid testing with a government-approved provider.
Visitors from the UK, Ireland and the 26 Schengen area countries, plus China, India, Iran, Brazil and South Africa, must provide proof of vaccination and produce a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours of departure, as well as provide contract tracing information, in order to enter the US.