- British Airways CEO Sean Doyle has urged that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 be allowed to travel without restrictions.
- British Airways also recommends that those who have yet to receive the vaccine be allowed to travel, if they have tested negative.
- The UK government, which has banned foreign holidays, is expected to announce its decision on restarting non-essential travel on April 12.
LONDON, England: Even as the UK government deliberates the reopening non-essential travel, British Airways CEO Sean Doyle has urged that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 be allowed to travel without restrictions, while those who have yet to receive the vaccine be allowed to travel if they have tested negative.
“I think people who’ve been vaccinated should be able to travel without restriction,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
The UK government, which has banned foreign holidays until May 17, is expected to announce its decision on restarting non-essential travel within and outside the country on April 12.
Doyle, who took over as BA’s chief executive in October last year, said the swift vaccine deployment in the UK has raised his hopes of the airline’s returning to the skies this summer.
He, however, added that any recovery would depend on what the government announces next month.
Although nearly 44 percent of the UK’s adult population has been inoculated, the government has said any travel restart must not unduly handicap those who have yet to be vaccinated.
Stating that there is “huge pent up demand” for air travel, Doyle has projected a tiered reopening, with destinations grouped based upon COVID risks.
According to travel observers, most European airlines are expected to focus on short-haul leisure routes this summer.
France, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain have been optimistic about welcoming British tourists, Doyle noted, adding that BA is looking to add even more destinations.
“We’re already looking at new destinations over the summer that we haven’t flown to before, and that could be across both long haul and short haul,” Doyle said, as reported by Reuters.
BA said it has even tied up with a testing kit provider to supply passengers $46 tests to take abroad.
While Doyle declined to give any estimates on passenger volumes, budget rival Ryanair has projected passenger numbers could reach up to 70 percent of their 2019 level this summer.
Amid hopes of such a revival, Doyle has urged the UK government to support the use of health apps for verifying passengers’ coronavirus test results and vaccination status.
The airline industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, has been pushing the use of health apps in reopening travel, arguing they will allow travel at scale by helping cut down on time taken to check paperwork.
Currently, it takes 20 minutes for airline staff to verify paperwork for each passenger. Therefore, if passenger numbers rise, such physical verifications would become untenable, according to the airlines.
