On Tuesday 21 July, four of the world's largest transport companies - the American Airlines, IAG, Lufthansa and United Airlines- have asked the European Commission and White House to set up a programme for testing passengers to determine whether they are negative for COVID-19. Such a measure would encourage a resumption of travel between the United States and Europe. The four carriers have addressed US Vice-President Mike Pence and Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs.
"We recognise that testing presents a number of challenges, but we believe that a pilot testing programme for the transatlantic market could be an excellent opportunity to find ways to overcome the obstacles and explore all options to protect health, build confidence and safely restore passenger travel between the US and Europe," the airlines explain in their letter.
Before COVID, the North Atlantic route was one of the most important and lucrative in the world. but it was decimated by the pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, the borders between the United States and Europe were almost completely sealed off.
According to IATA data, this market generated 46 million US dollars in revenue per day on average last year. In January, the market offered 4.7 million seats for almost 13,000 flights a month. By the end of June, this figure had barely reached one million, or 2,200 flights per month. Air France alone recorded a 78.6% drop in the number of flights. From 748 monthly frequencies in January on the North Atlantic, this figure fell to 160 flights in July. However, the worsening of the pandemic in the United States should lead to further capacity reductions in the short term.
