Major sectors of the U.S. travel industry are taking aim at what they say is the slow pace of change in pandemic rules, claiming that the government is lagging behind science and demand in the cruise and airline sectors.
The Cruise Lines Industry Association, which represents about 95% of the ocean-going cruise industry, says that CDC has fallen down on the job of providing a path to cruises from U.S. ports; its ‘framework for conditional sailing order,’ issued last October was meant to be a pathway back to business, but the lines say CDC has failed to follow up with consistent steps for them to follow, and has failed to take into account successful restarts in cruising elsewhere.
CLIA’s president, in a statement, says that “The outdated CSO, which was issued almost five months ago, does not reflect the industry’s proven advancements and success operating in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently.”
Meanwhile, Airlines for America, the U.S. Travel Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have partnered to ask the Biden administration to work with them on a roadmap to opening other forms of travel. In a joint letter, they set a goal of working with the White House by May 1. They want people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to be exempt from testing requirements before entering the United States. They also want the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to say that vaccinated people can travel safely.
