Scottish leisure and business travellers hoping to visit the US whenever restrictions are lifted could be in for a nasty shock.
Those who have received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine may find themselves barred from entering the country long after the current ban on UK citizens is removed, it is feared.
In the north-east there is growing concern that even if the ban is lifted in time for the next Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, in May 2022, travel plans could be scuppered by America refusing to admit people who have received AstraZeneca jabs.
Hundreds of people normally cross the pond for the world’s largest oil and gas show, with many of them in the age group most likely to have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Business travellers will not be able to fly in, Scots will not be able to visit family and what happens in Vegas can easily stay there as no one who has had the Astra Zeneca vaccine will be able to visit.”
Joanne Dooey, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association.
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the main health authority in the US, this week approved the Pfizer vaccine, but it still does not recognise AstraZeneca as an alternative.
Even if the Biden administration allows borders to reopen, it is feared the CDC’s non-recognition of AstraZeneca could be a significant barrier to travel between the UK and the US.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has already called on the US government to “urgently speed up approval” of the drug to “help restore vital transatlantic travel”.
Virginia Messina, senior vice-president for the trade body, said: “It’s crucial the US authorities step forward to formally approve the AstraZeneca vaccine as a matter of urgency to enable cross-border mobility and the return of transatlantic travel between the UK and US.
“Unless they give it the green light, the US will effectively remain closed to the vast majority of UK visitors and the many millions around the world who are double-jabbed with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“This will leave airlines, cruise lines, tour operators, hotels and the entire travel and tourism infrastructure, which depends on transatlantic travel, in significant trouble for the foreseeable future.”
WTTC warned the current CDC approval process could take many months to give AstraZeneca the all-clear.
Aberdeen-based energy industry travel experts Munro’s Travel and The Press and Journal have organised visits to OTC through a tie-up dating back to 1973.
Last year’s event was cancelled, due to Covid, while the delayed 2021 edition – held earlier this month – combined in-person and virtual attendance.
Regular attenders from the north-east, deprived of their annual trip since 2019, have pencilled May 2-5 in their diaries for 2022.
Munro’s managing director Murray Burnett said: “AstraZeneca has delivered over one billion doses of their Covid-19 vaccine globally – it is already approved by more than 170 countries.
“We urge the US authorities to urgently approve and recognise this vaccine as even when US borders are finally open to UK visitors they will effectively remain closed for those who are double-jabbed with the AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Mr Burnett added: “We have many clients that are desperate to visit the US to do business – this would be a massive economic blow if the US authorities delayed the AstraZeneca approval.”
Joanne Dooey, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, the professional body for travel agents and the travel sector in Scotland, said: “If the Astra Zeneca vaccine is not approved by the US, it will mean that, for the foreseeable future, millions of British travellers will not be permitted to enter America.
“Business travellers will not be able to fly in, Scots will not be able to visit family and what happens in Vegas can easily stay there as no one who has had the Astra Zeneca vaccine will be able to visit.
“Florida is particularly popular for Scots and we always see a lot of holidaymakers going at Easter. The delay in approving this is yet another blow for both travellers and travel agents alike.”
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Stewart Travel, which has a branch in Inverurie, is also backing calls to get the AstraZeneca vaccine approved at a federal government level in the US.
Mr Wilson said: “Given the proven efficacy of that particular vaccine in the fight against Covid, it does seem to be an anomaly that it hasn’t yet been approved by the US government.
“The US has always been one of our customers’ most popular holiday destinations. And we, like many other travel businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, want to see the opening up of the US border to all fully vaccinated travellers from the UK as quickly as possible.
“It would be a serious setback and basically unfair if the opportunity to travel to the US was only afforded to those that had received one of the alternative vaccines.”
Just one grounded holiday flight ‘costs Scottish economy £38,000’
AGS accounts reveal scale of damage wrought by Covid at Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports
