Rival airlines British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operated a synchronised departure from Heathrow Airport to mark the resumption of travel on the transatlantic corridor between the UK and USA.
The full aircraft took off from parallel runways at 8.51am for the journey to New York JFK.
Chief executive of Virgin Atlantic Shai Weiss said: “It’s been 600 days that the US border has been shut down for UK nationals. It is really a day of celebration for all of us in the industry and, of course, for Virgin Atlantic.”
His counterpart at British Airways, Sean Doyle, earlier said the reopening of the US borders was a “moment to celebrate” after “more than 600 days of separation”.
New York, Florida are the most popular search destinations for passengers eyeing a trip to the USA.
Emma Coulthurst, of TravelSupermarket, said: “Following the news that travel would resume from the UK to the US, we saw a three-fold increase in people coming to the site to look for US holidays. New York has seen the biggest jumps in traffic but Las Vegas and Florida have also seen large jumps.
"The US in the last week is the main destination showing an upward trend in visitors to the site for people comparing and contrasting holiday prices and then booking. It’s the third most popular country on our site for package holiday search and clicks.
"There is a lot of pent-up desire to travel to the US and now it’s opening up again, many people are looking to get away there. New York is the second most popular package holiday destination search for departures this winter from the UK via our site.”
Booking site KAYAK also reported average flight prices for the US appearing to be slightly higher than before the pandemic, about 15 per cent percent more when compared to the same period in 2019.
Laure Bornet, general manager, added: “After nearly two years of tight restrictions, it’s wonderful to see the surge in demand again for the US.
"Friends and family in the UK who’ve been separated by borders will finally be able to reunite with loved ones, and in perfect time for the festive season as the new rules ease ahead of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve.”
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