Major airlines call for COVID-19 testing to restore US-Europe travel

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FRANKFURT, Germany - Major airlines are urging the U.S. and the European Union to quickly restore transatlantic air travel by deploying a joint COVID-19 testing program.

The CEOs of United, American Airlines, IAG and Lufthansa Group wrote Tuesday that “given the unquestioned importance of transatlantic air travel to the global economy as well as to the economic recovery of our businesses, we believe it is critical to find a way to reopen air services between the U.S. and Europe.”

They said that a testing program for the transatlantic market “could be an excellent opportunity for government and industry to work together” and “safely restore passenger travel between the U.S. and Europe.”

The letter was addressed “with urgency” to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and to Ylva Johansson, the European commissioner for home affairs.

The signers were Scott Kirby for United, Carsten Spohr for Lufthansa, Doug Parker for American, and Willie Walsh at IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia.