US ban on UK travellers could last until November, warn airlines

The US travel ban on UK travellers could last until November causing concern among airlines.

It is reported a major airline is this week expected to delay plans to launch scheduled services from London to New York in September until November.

Another airline revealed it expected the ban will continue into the autumn but there is hope US President Joe Biden could introduce exceptions for double-jabbed UK travellers, according to The Telegraph.

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

Virgin Atlantic delayed the restart date for its Heathrow-Las Vegas flights to mid-September amid the spread of the highly-infectious Delta variant in the US.

Only Americans, their relatives and some exempt groups are permitted into the US as the rules currently stand.

Boris Johnson and Mr Biden agreed to set up a joint taskforce to resume travel when they met at the G7 summit in Cornwall in June.

However, the Prime Minister told colleagues later the president appeared "very reluctant" to restart flights between the two nations.

In a bid to reinvigorate travel, the UK opened its borders to US travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 without needing to quarantine from August 2.

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Virgin Atlantic urged Mr Biden to reciprocate by easing restrictions on double-vaccinated UK citizens and "helping loved ones to reunite and businesses to restore ties with our largest trading partner".

However, the US has yet to reciprocate.

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

Mr Hayes told BBC Today earlier this month: “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.”

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