Airlines Begin to Persuade Governments to Ease Travel Restrictions

January 18, 2021

The Travel Industry’s Efforts of Containing the Pandemic

The airline industry is growing anxious with the state of international travel. Many airlines are now getting creative in their efforts to show that international travel is ready to resume so employees can return to work and get grounded planes back into the air. Entire workforces were plunged into unemployment in March of 2020, and many are eager to get back to work and restore a sense of normalcy in 2021.

The corporate and leisure travel industries have taken a massive hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mass layoffs and grounded planes have slowed economic bounce backs and created complex financial problems for all stakeholders involved. As federal governments encourage travelers to stay home, competing narratives from the travel industry are last-ditch efforts to ensure their survival.

Airlines Have a Proposed Plan to Restart Travel Industry

One UK airline is shouting from the rooftops that their flights to the United States include pre-testing and advanced screening to keep staff and passengers safe. Their efforts have been communicated through many major media outlets and are intended to persuade governments to reduce travel restrictions and put an end to required quarantines.

This airline has partnered directly with an American competitor to jump-start travel between the United States. The proposed solution is asking passengers to take a three-step testing approach that requires three negative COVID tests. The first test is performed at-home 72 hours before departure, the second is a nasal sample test from a healthcare worker at the airport on the day of the flight, and the third is an at-home saliva test three days after arrival. They hope to reduce the testing requirements to one negative test before departure and ultimately remove quarantine requirements.

Three tests might sound appropriate from the traveler’s perspective, but many federal governments are not convinced that this is enough to contain the virus.

Travel Industry Hopes to Avoid Complete Collapse in 2021

Many airlines across the globe have expressed that current regulations are causing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. If these restrictions go on much longer, many airlines could face potential bankruptcy or require government-issued bailouts. The trouble is that COVID-19 has proven to be a global disaster and will likely need a massive collaboration for travel to return to normalcy.

Even with the emergence of a vaccine in Canada, leaders have refused to budge on travel restrictions and continue to implement strict quarantine measures on any traveler entering the country. The 14-day quarantine period has all but discouraged travelers from leaving the country, effectively killing international travel and reducing domestic flights to incredible lows.

Wide-Spread Vaccination: The Ultimate Key for the Travel Industry

The travel industry has been left to speculate on what will happen next and whether a resumption to travel will occur in 2021. Travel pass concepts have emerged, along with rumblings, that vaccination will be required for anyone looking to get on a plane in the new year. How governments across the globe will collaborate to ensure travelers are vaccinated will likely prove to be a logistical nightmare and complicate travel for the immediate future.

Travelers eager to experience sun and sand once again will have to be patient as restrictions are likely to stay in place until numbers are down and the pandemic is under control across the globe.

Return to Normalcy in 2021 with CAP™

Travelers should know that CAP travel assistance plans come standard with a robust mobile app that includes destination-based health, safety and security information, COVID-19 specific information, a one-touch assistance button and much, much more. CAP plans include unlimited, 24/7 advice for a long list of travel mishaps that are often overlooked by traditional travel insurance. CAP plans also include fully funded response to incidents of riots, strikes, and civil commotion, natural disasters, and medical evacuation to a home hospital of choice should you suffer from a medical mishap resulting in hospitalization.

Travel the world with confidence, knowing that CAP™ can guide you through any complicated matter when travel returns to normalcy in 2021.

Contact us directly to learn more.