Britain is attempting to persuade the White House to resume flights in the US for British subjects, Reuters reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source.
UK officials have allegedly held a number of high-level talks with members of the Trump administration, but an official statement has yet to be issued.
“Restarting transatlantic flights is of critical importance to the economic recovery of the UK and the US, the airline industry and for British nationals, most of whom cannot enter the US. British officials continue to pursue the resolution to this issue”, spokesman said.
At the moment, travelling from Europe or the UK to the United States is allowed only for US citizens or residents. Americans have an option to arrive in Britain on condition of a 14-day quarantine, while other European countries have closed their borders to US travelers.
As Bloomberg reported on 10 December, US National Security Council and National Economic Council officials have been examining the possibility of allowing travelers from the UK, several European countries and Brazil to fly to the US.
To date, the US has registered over 17.4 million COVID-19 cases, along with at least 313,000 deaths, since the pandemic began, according to data provided by the Johns Hopkins University. In Europe almost 70 million people have been tested positive and an estimated 1.6 million have died, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.