LONDON (Reuters) – The new head of British Airways said vaccinated people should be allowed to travel unrestricted and that people not vaccinated with a negative COVID-19 test, as he outlined his ideas to restart the trip a month before the UK government finalizes its plans.
Vacations will not be allowed until at least May 17, the government said, but before that, on April 12, Britain will announce how and when non-essential travel into and out of the country can be resumed.
Sean Doyle, appointed chief executive of BA last October, asked Britain to work with other governments to allow vaccines and healthcare applications to open travel, after a year in which minimal flights left many airlines unsupported. .
“I think that people who have been vaccinated should be able to travel without restrictions. Those who have not been vaccinated should be able to travel with a negative test result, ”he said.
Doyle said the vaccine launch made him optimistic that BA would be back in the summer, but added that the recovery depends on what is said on April 12.
He wants the government to support health apps that can be used to check a person’s negative COVID-19 test results and vaccination status.
The applications will be essential to facilitate travel on a large scale, the industry said. Airline personnel checking paperwork takes 20 minutes per passenger and is not practical if a large number of passengers return.
Great Britain quickly implemented vaccines and 44% of the adult population, mainly people over 60, have already had their first injection.
The government said that any return to the trip should be fair and should not unduly harm those who have not been vaccinated.
Doyle expects Britain to bring a hierarchical structure with destinations classified into categories depending on the risk, and this will determine BA’s summer schedule.
In addition to saying that there was “a huge pent-up demand”, Doyle refused to predict how strong the season could be.
Budget rival Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, said it expects to fly up to 70% of the number of passengers in 2019 this summer.
BA struck a deal with a test kit supplier that gives its passengers 33-pound ($ 46) tests to do abroad.
Travel commentators expect most European airlines to focus on short-haul leisure routes this summer, and Doyle noted that France, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain seemed optimistic about welcoming British tourists.
But he said BA is also looking further afield.
“We are already looking for new destinations during the summer that we have not flown to before, and that can be both long distance and short distance,” said Doyle.
($ 1 = 0.7196 pounds)
Reporting by Sarah Young. Editing by Mark Potter