Downing Street hailed the decision as the result of a bilateral “travel taskforce” that has been meeting fortnightly since the summer, though was unable to say what benefit it had brought, given that the easing of restrictions applies to scores of other countries as well as the UK.

Under current policy, only US citizens, their immediate families, green card holders and those with national interest exemptions (NIE) can travel into the US if they have been in the UK or EU in the previous two weeks.

There will be some exceptions to the vaccine policy including for children not yet eligible to be vaccinated. The new rules do not yet apply to travellers crossing land borders with Mexico and Canada.

“This new international travel system follows the science to keep Americans and international air travel safe,” Zients told reporters. “By requiring foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated in order to fly to the United States and in implementing additional strict safety protocols, we will protect Americans here at home and enhance the safety of international travel.

The new policy will take effect in “early November”, Zients added, to allow airlines and travel partners time to prepare to implement the new protocols.



British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said the US announcement “marks a historic moment and one which will provide a huge boost to global Britain as it emerges from this pandemic”.



Shares in US airlines were little changed, while some European carriers gained. British Airways parent IAG SA rose 11.2%, while Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG closed up more than 5%.

“This is excellent news for families and loved ones ... It’s good for the millions of livelihoods in the US that depend on global tourism. And it will boost the economic recovery by enabling some key business travel markets,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said.

Restrictions were first imposed on travellers from China in January 2020 by Trump and then extended to other countries in the following months, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them.

Biden had been likely to face renewed pressure when he comes face to face with Johnson and other European leaders at the United Nations general assembly in New York this week. About 3.8 million British nationals visited the US every year prior to the pandemic, according to the foreign office.

Dame Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to Washington, said: “Today’s travel announcement is great news for families and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. We are grateful the US has recognized the progress the UK has made against Covid-19, including high vaccination rates and declining cases.”

She added: “This decision means that more Brits can reunite with loved ones in the United States, more British holidaymakers can spend their hard-earned pounds in the American tourism sector, and more business activity can boost both of our economies.”

A state department official denied that the change in policy was an attempt to mollify Europe following the falling out between the US and France over the Aukus Australian submarine deal, which Washington negotiated without Paris’s knowledge, prompting France to recall its ambassador to the US.

Erica Barks-Ruggles, a senior official in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, said: “This is really driven by the science of Covid and as more people are being vaccinated around the world, we of course want people to be able to travel more freely.”

Source: The Guardian

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