More Than 260 Travel Companies Pressure White House to End Pre-Departure Testing

The travel industry continues to call for the elimination of the pre-departure testing requirement for entry to the United States.

More than 260 travel industry and business organizations sent a letter to White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha calling for the repeal of the pre-departure testing requirement for vaccinated international air travelers.

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In the letter, the organizations point out that new public health tools mean we can manage infections and that many other governments have already taken steps to eliminate testing.

“The wide range of public health tools to effectively manage COVID-19, combined with hospital grade ventilation systems onboard airplanes and the inbound vaccination requirement, have also made international air travel safer than ever,” the group says in the letter.

The organizations also note that other countries have eliminated testing requirements.

“Many foreign governments with similar infection, vaccination and hospitalization rates—including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada—have eliminated pre-departure testing requirements for vaccinated travelers,” writes the group. “Further, since the federal government does not require negative tests for entry at our land-border ports of entry with Canada and Mexico, it no longer makes sense to keep a pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirement in place for vaccinated inbound international air travelers to the U.S.”

Signatories to the letter include major corporations, associations, airports, airlines and more, including Disney, American Airlines, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Los Angeles World Airports, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Travel Association, U.S. Tour Operators Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.