US could be off limits to Britons until November, warns airline boss

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AFP via Getty Images

Britons might have to wait until November to travel to the US, according to a leading airline chief.

JetBlue Airways chief Robin Hayes has expressed hope for America to drop its presidential ban on UK arrivals “in two to three months.”

The country has been off limits to those travelling from the UK since March 2020.

Despite the ban, and the collapse in transatlantic air travel, the carrier is offering a new route from JFK airport to London Heathrow on August 11.

“We are hopeful over the next two or three months, as we get on the right side of the Delta variant increases we have seen, we can revisit that and we can welcome Brits and Europeans to the States again,” Mr Hayes told BBC Today.

Travel to the US from Britain, the European Union, China and Iran has been restricted for more than a year due to Covid-19, with countries such as Brazil and India later included.

The ban takes the form of a series of presidential proclamations by Donald Trump, then continued by Joe Biden.

Mr Hayes added: “We’ve made our views very clear to the administration here that the current approach is not risk based.

“In fact flights are allowed from countries that have a lot higher levels of Covid transmission than countries in Europe. It really doesn’t make any sense.”

Last week, the UK reopened its borders to allow US and EU travellers who are fully vaccinated to enter without the need to quarantine.

Mr Hayes commented: “We’ve actually seen, since the UK removed the quarantine restrictions from the amber list, daily new bookings almost trebled.”

A Whitehall official announced last week that the US is working on plans to reopen to Britons in a safe and sustainable manner.

President Joe Biden’s administration said it wants to welcome fully vaccinated visitors but a timeframe is yet to be confirmed.

The country is currently averaging 100,000 new Covid-19 infections a day, as the Delta variant continues to spread throughout the country.

Data analyst Tim White tweeted: “The seven day infection rate is now almost 250/100k.”

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