#traveldayofaction, a hashtag for the resumption of travel between the US and EU
A hashtag for the safe resumption of travel between the United States and the United Kingdom. To the tune of #traveldayofaction, major [...]
A hashtag for the safe resumption of travel between the United States and the United Kingdom. To the tune of #traveldayofaction, The major airlines operating between America and Europe have called for governments to restart tourism. For while it is true that a U.S.-U.K. corridor has long been talked about, it is even more true that the European Union as a whole is clamoring for the borders to be reopened.
#traveldayofaction, what the airlines are asking for.
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Through the hashtag #traveldayofaction, Wednesday, June 23, airlines called for a return to safe tourism in time for summer. From British Airways to Virgin Atlantic, major carriers protested peacefully. Crews (including pilots, stewardesses and stewards) posed in uniform, masks over their faces and signs in hand. Their will? To show that safe travel is possible, even internationally.
After all, it is now since March 2020 that nonessential travel between the United States and Europe has been at a standstill. Or rather, they are in one direction. For the past couple of months, many European Union states have opened up to vaccinated U.S. tourists (Italy first and foremost). And, last June 18, a further step was taken. EU countries have been urged to fully reopen to those from the U.S.: not only to the vaccinated, then, but also to those who have been swabbed and tested negative or have a certificate of recovery. In essence, it is about extending the Green Pass rules to those from the United States as well.
What the European Union expects is that, soon, the United States will "return the favor" and thus reopen to European tourists. The British issue, however, is a bit more complex. The United Kingdom is experiencing a real surge of infections: the Delta variant has found fertile ground because of the country's policy of vaccinating as many people as possible with a single dose instead of completing vaccination cycles. Reason why, Italy has chosen to introduce a five-day quarantine for those returning from the UK.
The European Union's request to the United States
There is more than just the hashtag #traveldayofaction: the vice president of the EU Commission, Margaritis Schinas, has called on Washington to apply the reciprocity. And to thus return to admitting European tourists to the U.S. "The EU has done its part by putting the U.S. on the list of countries from which they can resume nonessential travel: now it's their turn," he said. Not least because, to date, Europe is the continent with the largest number of vaccinated people and was the only one to introduce a pass to return to safe travel.
European leaders say they are optimistic that good news may soon be forthcoming for the resumption of nonessential travel as well as for the recognition of full reciprocity on visas. Not least because, the United States has set up a commission of experts specifically for the safe resumption of travel with Europe, Mexico and Canada. The hope is that the reopening will come before the end of the summer (as instead speculated by Fauci a couple of months ago).
