Airline sector relieved over US decision to lift travel ban

Airline sector relieved over US decision to lift travel ban

PARIS: The United States’ decision to lift restrictions on incoming travellers vaccinated against COVID-19 was met with a sigh of a relief by the global airline sector, which has been dealt a body blow by the pandemic. With transatlantic flights traditionally among the most lucrative for Europe’s biggest airlines, the Monday announcement was “formidable news” for a sector that has hemorrhaged tens of billions of euros over the past 18 months, Air France-KLM chief Benjamin Smith told AFP.

For most of Europe’s flag carriers-such as Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa-the restrictions on long-haul routes across the Atlantic were particularly hard to swallow. Air France-KLM, for example, generates 40 percent of its sales from its North Atlantic services, and for Germany’s Lufthansa, the proportion is 50 percent. “Today’s news… marks an historic moment,” said British Airways chief Sean Doyle. “Our customers should now feel that the world is reopening to them and they can book their trips with confidence.”

US airlines such as United, Delta and American are much more domestically orientated and less dependent on international services, which account for 25-30 percent of revenues. But they, too, welcomed the news. “Today’s announcement marks a positive step in our nation’s recovery,” said