Virgin Atlantic sees 91% booking surge as US lifts travel ban

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Virgin Atlantic has reported a surge in bookings within the first hour of the United States announcing it will lift its travel ban for vaccinated British travellers.

The airline has reported a 91% spike week-on-week in bookings from the UK, with New York and Los Angeles proving the most popular destinations. The spike comes after the White House confirmed that from early November, UK travellers who are fully vaccinated will be able to visit, ending a ban that has been in place since March 2020.

Under the existing rules, the US kept its borders closed to anyone who had been in the UK within the previous 14 days, meaning that holidays were off the cards.

Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said that the US Government announcement that fully vaccinated UK visitors will be able to enter the US from November is a major milestone to the reopening of travel at scale across the Atlantic, allowing consumers and businesses to book travel to the US with confidence.

As the UK forges its recovery from the pandemic, the reopening of the transatlantic corridor and the lifting of Presidential Order 212F acknowledges the great progress both nations have made in rolling out successful vaccine programmes.

The UK will now be able to strengthen ties with our most important economic partner, the US, boosting trade and tourism as well as reuniting friends, families and business colleagues. We are thankful to Prime Minister Johnson and the UK Government, the Biden administration and our industry partners for their collaboration.

The US has been our heartland for more than 37 years since our first flight to New York City in 1984. They are simply not Virgin without the Atlantic. After 18 months of uncertainty, we cannot wait to welcome their customers back onboard, flying them safely to their favourite US destination.

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