London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jan 18, 2026

Johnson and Biden to pledge relaunch of US-UK air travel

Johnson and Biden to pledge relaunch of US-UK air travel

Boris Johnson and Joe Biden are to discuss the relaunch of US-UK travel following the pandemic as they meet ahead of the G7 summit.

The two leaders also said they will work to agree a new commitments on challenges including climate change and security, as well as on efforts to resume transatlantic travel.

The US President will meet the Prime Minister in Cornwall on Thursday on Mr Biden’s first overseas visit since entering the White House.

No immediate breakthrough is expected on resuming travel between the US and UK, which ground to a halt as the Covid pandemic hit.

However, the leaders are expected to agree to work to relaunch UK-US trips as soon as possible through a new taskforce which will make recommendations on reopening international travel.

The taskforce will be overseen in the UK by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and will be chaired by senior officials in the Department for Transport and their US counterparts.

Joe and Jill Biden arrive in the UK

The two leaders are set to agree a new Atlantic Charter to underpin shared commitments on pressing international issues.

But despite the close ties between the UK and US, the ongoing issues raised by Brexit in Northern Ireland have caused concern in the White House, with Mr Biden’s aides insisting that nothing should be done which puts the peace process at risk.

On the eve of the visit, Mr Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said: “President Biden believes and has said that the Northern Ireland Protocol, as part of the agreement between the UK and the European Union, is critical to ensuring that the spirit, promise and future of the Good Friday Agreement is protected.”

Downing Street said the two leaders would reinforce their shared commitment to preserve the gains made by the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement in Northern Ireland.

Mr Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that resolving the dispute was “easily doable” and “what we want to do is make sure that we can have a solution that guarantees the peace process, protects the peace process, but also guarantees the economic and territorial integrity of the whole United Kingdom”.

The meeting of the two leaders comes on the eve of the G7 summit which will bring together the world’s wealthiest democracies at a time when the West faces difficult judgments in responding to the rise of China as an economic and political force and the destabilising actions of Russia.

As part of that process, the new Atlantic Charter will commit the UK and US to apply their combined strength to the enormous challenges facing the planet today, including global defence and security, “building back better” from coronavirus, and stopping climate change.

The original Atlantic Charter was a joint statement made by Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt in 1941, setting out the UK and US goals for the post-Second World War world.

Eighty years on, Mr Johnson – who dislikes the term “special relationship” to describe the transatlantic partnership – said the new agreement would underline that the UK and US remain “the closest of partners and the greatest of allies”.

Mr Johnson said: “While Churchill and Roosevelt faced the question of how to help the world recover following a devastating war, today we have to reckon with a very different but no less intimidating challenge – how to build back better from the coronavirus pandemic.

“And as we do so, co-operation between the UK and US, the closest of partners and the greatest of allies, will be crucial for the future of the world’s stability and prosperity.”

The agreements being made in Cornwall “rooted as they are in our shared values and outlook, will form the foundation of a sustainable global recovery”, he said.

“Eighty years ago the US president and British prime minister stood together promising a better future. Today we do the same.”

During their meeting the Prime Minister and president will also discuss ways of further enhancing the economic relationship, including through a resolution to the trade dispute around subsidies to Airbus and Boeing which led to tit-for-tat tariffs.

It is also expected that the leaders will agree to pursue a landmark bilateral technology agreement to be signed next year, aimed at reducing the barriers British tech firms face when trying to work with their US counterparts.

As the pandemic continues, the two leaders are expected to agree to scale up joint work on genomic sequencing and variant assessments, with expert agencies working together as part of an integrated global surveillance system.

The original Atlantic Charter was devised at sea on board the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and US heavy cruiser USS Augusta.

The modern namesake of HMS Prince of Wales, one of the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers, will sail along the coast of Cornwall to mark the occasion.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
×