Several major airlines have called on governments to establish a joint coronavirus testing program to allow travel to resume between the U.S. and Europe, which still is largely restricted.
British Airways owner International Airlines Group, American Airlines, United Airlines and Lufthansa are among the carriers to sign a letter to U.S. 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 U.S. 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 currently is not allowing U.S. residents to visit, while the United Kingdom has kept the U.S. on a list of countries from which travelers must self-isolate for 14 days on arrival to the country. Likewise, the U.S. continues to prohibit most travel from the EU and the U.K. Some airlines still are offering flights between the regions for essential travel.
While European nations have seen marked improvement in coronavirus infection rates in recent weeks, the U.S. has seen a large spike in new cases in some states.
Originally published in BTN Europe.