Heathrow Airport urges Britain to open up travel to vaccinated passengers

London’s Heathrow Airport urged Britain to open up travel to vaccinated passengers after its recovery fell behind hubs elsewhere in Europe, pushing its cumulative pandemic losses to $4 billion, Reuters reported.

Heathrow said Britain’s travel restrictions were suppressing trade volumes and traveller demand, and government action was needed quickly or jobs would be lost.

Passenger levels at Heathrow were about 20-25% of their pre-pandemic levels, while European airports are already back to about 50%, said Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.

“Without the passenger planes going to global markets like the US, UK exports aren’t getting out of the country, and the UK will fall behind and that will cost jobs, unless we open up,” he told Reuters.

Heathrow wants Britain to allow fully vaccinated people from the US and the European Union to be able to travel into Britain without needing to quarantine for 10 days, and says that level of opening up would help fuel a stronger recovery.