Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 8
The aviation industry thrives on certainty.
Recommendation
The aviation industry thrives on certainty. In order to return passenger aircraft to the skies and to connect the UK to the world, a road map to restart international travel is urgently needed. The Department has not yet specified the standards that destination countries must meet on vaccine and testing capabilities in order to reopen for travel with the UK. In addition, it has not clarified whether such criteria will be flexible if the risk of transmission of new variants between vaccinated individuals is found to be minimal.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government partially agrees, stating it has provided a detailed roadmap and clear testing requirements for UK travel, but clarifies that wider vaccine and testing standards for destination countries require international agreement, which it is actively pursuing through multilateral and bilateral engagements. It also outlined three checkpoints for reviewing measures by October 2021.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
8
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
21. The Government partially agrees with this recommendation. We fully understand the importance of certainty to the air transport industry, and have therefore set out the detailed roadmap for international travel contained in the GTT report. While we have been clear on the requirements for testing required to travel to the UK, wider vaccine and testing standards must be agreed internationally through multilateral organisations including the World Health Organisation. The Secretary of State chaired a virtual meeting of G7 transport ministers on 5 May to identify common goals and principles for the reopening of international travel, including best practices for sharing scientific data and promoting coordination on universally recognised travel certificates. We also continue to work with ICAO and other international agencies to develop agreement on the implementation of global standards. In parallel, we are engaging bilaterally with international partners to exchange information and explore how we can open international travel safely, including the potential piloting of digital and non-digital certification.
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