Return of UK travel to US is welcomed

UK business travellers are now able to travel to the US for the first time in nearly two years.

The border reopened last month for UK travellers who can provide proof of vaccination in order to enter the US.

Vaccinated people who have had a negative test taken no more than three days before travelling can enter the US without quarantining.

Another test three to five days after arriving in the US is recommended.

American travellers have been able to travel to the UK since 28 July.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the re-opening was a 'significant moment ' for UK-US travel.

The re-opening coincided with the Cop 26 climate conference in Glasgow, and Mr Shapps used the opportunity to link US-UK flights with efforts to make air travel more environmentally friendly.

He said: “Making these transatlantic flights greener is crucial for the aviation sector and we are investing record amounts to make that a reality. ”

Among those relieved that transatlantic flights have restarted is Rob Whittall (pictured), managing partner of accountant Dyke Yaxley, who revealed some of his clients had not wasted a second in resuming face-to-face business with the US.

He said: “Two of our clients travelled to New York and Texas the day the travel ban was lifted. Both individuals were understandably eager to jump start the business evaluation and relationship building opportunities they had started before Covid shut down travel and reshaped how we all conducted business.

“While we 've all adapted to conducting business virtually and can appreciate the benefits of such, there are still advantages to doing things like seeing and selecting a new site location first hand, meeting service providers in person, and experiencing US culture directly when you setup shop there.

“Having the choice to see someone face to face, look them in the eye, is something those who do international business miss.

“Having the opportunity to do so again for a variety of roles within numerous industries will help resume some sort of return to the personal side of relationship building.

“With transatlantic flights resuming, business owners now have the choice and opportunity to execute transatlantic decisions they may have been reluctant to do because they weren 't comfortable moving forward during the pandemic for whatever reason.

“We 've seen a number of businesses chose to start their US business during the pandemic and now that they have the chance to do their due diligence on the ground, they are taking advantage of that opportunity. ”

The relaxation of the rules relating to US travel comes as the UK 's 'red list ' of overseas countries becomes zero, at least for the time being.

Under red-list rules, travellers were only allowed to enter the country if they were a UK or Irish national, or a UK resident.

They had to quarantine for 10 days, at their own expense, in a government-approved hotel.

The last countries on the red list were Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Mr Shapps said countries could be added to the red list again if needed, in case of new variants or a resurgence in cases overseas.