The State Department this week has downgraded travel advisories for both the UK and Israel, as both counties continue to make progress with vaccination efforts.
The U.K. has been reduced from a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” rating, down to a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” rating. However, as the United States was placed on the amber travel list by the UK, any American arrivals to England will continue to be required to quarantine at home or in a hotel for a period of 10 days.
Officials in the UK have said the list will be reviewed every three weeks.
Meanwhile, the CEOs of several U.S. and U.K. airlines on Tuesday called on their respective governments to revive air travel between the two countries.
“Public health must guide the reopening of international air travel and we are confident that the aviation industry possesses the right tools, based on data and science, to enable a safe and meaningful restart to transatlantic travel,” said the letter to the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his U.K. counterpart Grant Shapps. “U.S. and UK citizens would benefit from the significant testing capability and the successful trials of digital applications to verify health credentials.”
The letter was signed by the CEOs of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and JetBlue Airways, which aims to launch U.S.-U.K. service this summer, and U.S. industry group Airlines for America.
Israel, one of the world’s most vaccinated countries per capita, has been further reduced to “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution.” Although it’s not currently allowing most foreign tourists, Israel hopes to begin allowing others to visit in the coming months as it monitors the pilot program that is set to begin May 23.
“Israel’s widely applauded and successful rollout of the vaccine has clearly caught the eye of many travelers in the United States and the UK who are longing for a safe summer holiday now that many of them have been vaccinated – making it a COVID-safe corridor,” said Carlos Cendra, Sales & Marketing Director of Mabrian, a provider of travel intelligence to the tourism industry.
“Historically it has been very unusual to see such a significant increase in search demand for a destination from one year to the next. But now, the travel sector is facing a new reality where travel trends are changing dramatically due to the context”.
Originally Appeared On: https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/US-State-Department-Downgrades-UK-Israel-Travel-Advisories