‘A moment of celebration’: UK flights to US take off from Heathrow

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic planes depart more than 600 days after US travel ban began

There were clear skies and a bright new dawn at London Heathrow for its biggest customers, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, which took off simultaneously in a show ofsolidarity on Monday morning, flying west with planes fully loaded with passengers as the US finally opened its borders to foreign visitors again.

Setting aside a longstanding rivalry, the planes took to the skies just after 8.50am - more than 600 days since the US travel ban was introduced - in what the bosses of the two airlines described as a pivotal moment" for the battered industry. Both airlines have reported huge losses and laid off thousands of staff during 20 months of restricted travel.