Several major airlines have called on governments to
establish a joint coronavirus testing programme to allow travel to resume
between the US and Europe, which is still largely restricted.
British Airways owner International Airlines Group, American
Airlines, United Airlines and Lufthansa are among the carriers to sign a letter
to US vice president Mike Pence and European home affairs commissioner Ylva
Johansson asking for their respective governments to consider the use of
testing to allow passengers to begin making transatlantic trips.
The companies argue that travel between Europe and the US is
vital to the global economy and will play an important role in their own
recovery.
The letter reads: ¡°We recognise that testing presents a
number of challenges, however we believe that a pilot testing programme for the
transatlantic market could be an excellent opportunity for government and
industry to work together.¡±
The EU is currently not allowing US residents to visit,
while the UK has kept the US on a list of countries from which travellers must
self-isolate for 14 days on arrival to the country. Likewise, the US continues
to prohibit most travel from the EU and the UK. Some airlines are still offering
flights between the regions for essential travel.
While European nations have seen marked improvement in
coronavirus infection rates in recent weeks, the US has seen a large spike in
new cases following some states¡¯ decision to reopen parts of the economy.