The US government was meant to release a date for the lifting of lockdown restrictions and permit UK travellers to enter the US. However, the UK has so far been met with silence from Washington. This silence has led many to reflect that Britain’s priority with Washington has dropped since Mr Biden’s arrival in office.
Boris Johnson told reporters he has not received information as to whether restrictions for travel between the UK and US will ease.
A UK Government source has stated that Britain has been “blindsided” by President Biden’s announcement last month that he was relaxing restrictions for visitors from countries around the world.
After this statement is was hoped that a date would be set for easing restrictions with the UK, but a firm date has yet to be released by the Oval Office.
Speaking to the Independent about when the US will make its decision a Government source said: “Your guess is as good as mine.
“They haven’t told us anything about the date.
“The White House are in charge of the policy.
“It’s very difficult to work out what is going on.”
In response to a query about the date for the resumption of travel, the US Department of Transportation said only: “We have no updates or new information at this time.”
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Simon Calder, the travel correspondent of The Independent, said: “With just four weeks to go before a possible reopening of the US to UK and EU visitors, airline executives are tearing their hair out.
“Having been starved for 18 months of the most lucrative aviation market in the world, they are desperate to cash in on the surge of demand that will accompany the opening up of transatlantic routes.
“But they certainly don’t want to schedule any flights that then turn out to be half-empty because the ban hasn’t been lifted.”
Relations with the US have already been ruffled after UK Brexit minister David Frost said the US president should not intervene in negotiations between London and Brussels over the Irish border.
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The UK Brexit minister has said this week how he may have to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol if Brussels does not deliver certain concessions on customs checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This will further strain relations with the Biden administration that insist there should be no interference with the principles of the Good Friday Agreement.
The Good Friday Agreement was signed by former US president Bill Clinton in 1998 and it has enshrined the principle that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Protocol has created a de facto border down the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
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