WASHINGTON (US) – The British government is taking strong efforts to persuade the Trump administration to lift or even relax travel restrictions that restrict most people in the UK from traveling to the United States, according to sources.
On Nov. 25, it was reported that the White House was considering to cancel entry bans for most non-US citizens who recently visited Brazil, Britain, Ireland and 26 other European countries.
However, since then there has been no decision by President Donald Trump.
The White House declined to comment on Friday.
But in an email, a spokeswoman for the UK Department for Transport said “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.”
The proposal to lift the travel restrictions garnered the support of White House coronavirus task-force members, public health and other federal agencies, as reported in November.
The US restrictions barring most visitors from Europe have been in place since mid-March to address the coronavirus pandemic, barring entry of most non-U.S. residents who have been in those countries in the previous 14 days.
Nearly all of Europe still restricts most US travelers from visiting, while Britain permits American visits but calls for two-weeks quarantine upon arrival.