According to a recent report, the UK is set to miss out on billions of pounds of spending from passengers arriving into Heathrow if the green list is not extended as part of an upcoming travel review.
Economic forecasting group the CEBR said its research suggested that business and leisure passengers arriving at the airport spend over £16 billion a year across the UK, sustaining jobs at thousands of businesses.
US visitors travelling through Heathrow are the largest source of inbound tourism revenue for the economy, with these passengers accounting for £3.74 billion, said the report.
There is a risk that US visitors could go elsewhere, as countries such as Italy and France prepare to welcome them back, it was warned.
The report was published as Heathrow is working with the Government to launch a dedicated red list arrivals facility, creating more capacity for arrivals from an expanded green list.
The facility will be launched on June 1 in Terminal 3 before being moved to Terminal 4.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “This research shows just how many businesses across the UK are losing out because of the Government’s restrictions on access to overseas visitors and markets.
“The Government has the tools to protect both public health and the economy and ministers must unlock more low-risk destinations across Europe, as well as the US, as part of the next review on June 7.”