Omicron plunges travel industry back into COVID uncertainty
Airlines worry that new variant will end the short-lived industry revival.
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like the worst was over. The U.S. had finally lifted its 19-month-long travel ban on Europe, and the revival of lucrative transatlantic routes promised to buoy an industry that's estimated to have lost $6 trillion since the start of the pandemic. British Airways chief Sean Doyle called it a “moment to celebrate.”
But that optimism may turn out to be premature. The arrival of the coronavirus Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, is causing countries to rush out new travel restrictions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on EU countries to suspend all air travel from variant-hit countries. At the time of the announcement, that meant restricting flights from six southern African nations.
As clusters of Omicron cases have started to appear across the bloc — including Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the U.K. — countries are taking things a few steps further.
