Shai Weiss said the decision, announced on Monday (20 September) following an 18-month ban on most travel to America for non-US citizens, would allow consumers and businesses to book transatlantic travel “with confidence”.
He added how the move acknowledged the "great progress" the UK and US had made with vaccination programmes and would boost trade and tourism and reunite "friends, families and business colleagues".
“The US has been our heartland for more than 37 years since our first flight to New York City in 1984. We are simply not Virgin without the Atlantic," he said. "After 18 months of uncertainty, we cannot wait to welcome our customers back onboard, flying them safety to their favourite US destination.”
Non-US travellers will be required to show proof of full vaccination against Covid as part of the new rules.
They will also have to provide evidence of having testing negative for Covid-19 up to 72 hours prior to departure and unvaccinated arrivals will likely be subject to additional testing requirements, the White House has intimated.
Weiss’s comments were echoed by Airlines UK chief Tim Alderslade, who called the reopening “a major breakthrough”, which coupled with last week’s relaxing of UK travel restrictions, “represents a substantial reopening of UK aviation”.
“The US is one of our most important markets and the air corridor is worth billions of pounds a year in trade and tourism – safeguarding thousands of jobs,” said Alderslade.
“Things are moving in the right direction and ministers deserve credit for getting us to this point. We look forward to seeing the full details so airlines can support seamless implementation in November.
“Obviously, there is more to be done – including the relaxation in due course of restrictions for unvaccinated passengers – but for now there is light at the end of the tunnel following 18 months of unprecedented uncertainty.”
Business travel chiefs also hailed the news, with Business Travel Association chief executive Clive Wratten saying the announcement "gives the whole travel industry light at the end of a very dark tunnel".
However Wratten said waiting until November for the US to reopen "harms businesses on both sides of the Atlantic" and he urged for transatlantic travel to return "on a permanent basis".
