BritishAmerican Business Statement on CEO Press Briefing on Reopening Transatlantic Travel
7 June 2021
Contact: Dominic Parker, Communications Manager dparker@babinc.org | 020 7290 9882 | +44 7500 115352
Today, BritishAmerican Business CEO, Duncan Edwards, moderated a special press briefing with the CEOs of the six major transatlantic airlines: American Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, British Airways, and JetBlue – as well as the CEO of Heathrow Airport and the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
At the briefing, the leaders called for President Biden and Prime Minister Johnson to take the lead and announce the reopening of the U.S.-UK travel corridor during the G7 Summit. The briefing reconfirmed that health and safety measures, together with the low infection rates and impressive vaccination rates in both countries show that this is the moment to reopen the U.S.-UK route and set the pace for the rest of the world.
Duncan Edwards, CEO of BritishAmerican Business, said:
“The closure of the transatlantic air corridor has had an unprecedented impact on businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly SMEs with fewer resources, that often rely on in-person contact and meetings. For over a year, we at BritishAmerican Business, in partnership with stakeholders across all industries active in the corridor, have been working alongside the aviation industry to ensure that travelling is safe. We know that air travel will be a vital component of our recovery from the crisis.
“We believe we have reached the point where our number one objective, which is to keep people safe, can go hand in hand with our ambition to re-open international travel. We call on our governments to give a clear signal when restrictions will be lifted under a risk-based approach, so we can take off again.”
ENDS
BritishAmerican Business is the leading transatlantic trade association incorporating the British-American Chamber of Commerce in the US and the American Chamber of Commerce in the UK.
We are committed to strengthening the economic corridor between the United States and the United Kingdom by supporting policies and action that protect and enhance the environment for transatlantic trade and investment.
We convene and serve a growing network of companies and business leaders through networking opportunities, bespoke programming and marketing platforms.
We actively promote trade and investment and support those who make the transatlantic corridor part of their business growth ambition.
For more information, please visit www.babinc.org