(Reuters) – Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Ed Bastian said the travel corridor between New York and London is complicated and it would be easier to relaunch transatlantic flights to “just about any” other European capital, Britain’s Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/4f34798a-c407-462a-b7ff-cdcf703c35c8) reported on Sunday.
Americans can travel to the UK but have been required since the spring to spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival. The same rule applies for passengers arriving in the United States from London.
“I think New York-London is complicated”, Bastian told the newspaper, casting doubt over hopes of opening an air corridor for the previously lucrative route for several airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
“I think you will find on the continent several countries that are more open.”
Major airlines want the U.S. and British governments to launch a trial of coronavirus testing for passengers flying between London and New York to pave the way for resuming more international travel.
(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman)