Update - this article was updated on September 9. In the final paragraph, it was stated that Delta Air Lines required all its staff and passengers on international flights to be vaccinated, which is incorrect. In fact, Delta requires only a Covid test from staff and passengers on international flights, but not on domestic flights. The editor of Travel News apologises to Delta and to our readers for the error.
Transatlantic traffic between the EU and the US has been stymied by the EU removing the US from its COVID ‘safe list’ list. The EU has recommended to its 27 member states that they reinstate restrictions on US travellers.
This could have grave implications for the airlines that ply this lucrative route, for the tour operators in the US who specialise in Europe travel, and for the DMCs and accommodation and transport providers in Europe who welcomed the US market back when it was moved to the EU ‘green list’ in June.
While travellers from the US have not been explicitly prohibited from going anywhere in Europe, the system works on recommendations by the EU government. Now Italy has put restrictions on US travellers, depending on their vaccination status. The unvaccinated must quarantine for five days post-arrival. Vaccinated visitors must provide a negative test result before departure.
Several member states of the EU are urging travellers not to cancel but to bring proof of vaccination. (All of this falls within the recommendation by the EU. The recommendation is not a binding rule, and all members may decide how they see fit to treat US travellers.)
This could be leading US and European airlines into another slump after they had begun bouncing back from the first year of COVID at the start of the Northern hemisphere spring. Experts are now predicting that autumn will see fast-shrinking demand and that airlines will start cutting flights from schedules.
Paul Weinstein, Professor of Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University, speaking in a discussion on a podcast on US news website NPR, argued that mandating vaccines for those who travel would not only help slow the spread of the deadly virus, but would also be good for the airline business. “If you know that everyone on the plane has been vaccinated, then you're much more likely to not cancel your travel plans and therefore not hurt the airline's bottom line. This is really something the airlines themselves should probably want because it provides peace of mind to the passengers.”
Delta Air Lines currently requires employees and customers to have a Covid test for international flights, but Covid testing is not required on domestic flights. United so far requires only its employees to be vaccinated.
