The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says it is “crucial” the US government formally approves the AstraZeneca vaccine to help restore transatlantic travel.
The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) this week gave full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, but does not currently recognise AstraZeneca in the same way.
It means that even if the US reopens its borders to UK travellers, the many who have had the AstraZeneca vaccine may face quarantine restrictions due to the “vaccine vacuum”.
WTTC, which represents the global travel and tourism private sector, also warns that the current CDC approval process could take months to give AstraZeneca the all clear.
It says the US will effectively remain off-limits to the majority of Brits – and many millions more around the world – if it does not formally approve AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which has been administered across 176 countries and territories.
The WTTC says continued CDC non-recognition will “seriously depress” consumer demand and prevent any meaningful revival of transatlantic travel from the UK to the US, and have “serious knock-on effects” throughout the travel and tourism sector.
US budget carrier JetBlue recently launched its first transatlantic flights between New York and London, while Aer Lingus, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines are all due to add new transatlantic routes or extra capacity.
Analysis by travel and data analytics firm Cirium found UK-US flights scheduled for the last week of August have plunged by 73% compared to the same period in 2019, from 287,000 in 2019 to 78,000 this year.
More:Negotiations on US reopening to UK ‘entirely unfruitful’
Virgin Atlantic ‘hopeful’ of US reopening from September
Virginia Messina, senior vice president of the WTTC, said: “It’s crucial the US authorities step forward to formally approve the AstraZeneca vaccine as a matter of urgency to enable cross-border mobility and the return of transatlantic travel between the UK and U.S.
“Unless they give it the green light then the US will effectively remain closed to the vast majority of UK visitors and the many millions around the world who are double-jabbed with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“This will leave airlines, cruise lines, tour operators, hotels and the entire travel and tourism infrastructure, which depends upon transatlantic travel, in significant trouble for the foreseeable future.
“Neither the US nor the UK economy can afford this ‘vaccine vacuum’ to continue a day longer, and every day which passes, and transatlantic travel remains off limits, it leaves the Travel & Tourism sector sinking deeper into the red.”
The city of New York this week added AstraZeneca to its list of vaccines accepted as proof of inoculation to enter many indoor venues. The WTTC is urging the US to follow New York’s lead for travel and called on the federal government to include all World Health Organization (WHO) and FDA approved vaccines.
In addition, the WTTC says it has “grown increasingly concerned that more layers of complexity around vaccine requirements are increasing barriers to mobility and cross-border travel”, including Austria recently announcing a 270-day expiry date for Covid-19 vaccine certificate.
It believes the move could “significantly delay” the recovery of the country’s travel and tourism sector, deterring travellers from visiting and causing further damage to the Austrian economy.
The WTTC has warned the restart of international travel could be “seriously delayed” without worldwide reciprocal recognition of all approved Covid-19 vaccines.
“Vaccine inequality could become an increasing barrier to international mobility and continue to inflict damage upon economies around the world,” the WTTC said.
The group has also recently pressed the UK government to bear the cost of “hugely expensive and unnecessary” PCR tests for fully-vaccinated citizens, which it says continues to deter Britons from travelling.