FILE PHOTO: A commercial plane crew member walks along an empty terminal at Reagan International Airport as the spread of coronavirus disease continues, in Washington, U.S., April 3, 2020. Picture taken April 3, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaREUTERS: Major US airline and travel groups urged on Monday a partnership with the government to develop a plan to reopen international borders this summer, assuming COVID-19 vaccine and case counts continue along positive trends.
In a letter sent to the White House COVID-19 recovery coordinator, more than two dozen industry groups, including Airlines for America, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the US Travel Association said:"The time to plan for and chart a defined roadmap to reopen international travel is now.
The US groups called for a risk-based, data-driven roadmap to safely lift those restrictions to be finalized before May 1 so that a plan is in place for international travel by the summer of 2021. Travel within the US has picked up considerably over the past week as more Americans become vaccinated, though the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends against nonessential travel.