Airlines for America, which represents the nation's biggest carriers and 28 other airline, travel and business groups groups are pushing to eliminate the government requirement that international travelers provide a negative test for COVID-19 before boarding a U.S.-bound plane.

They believe the testing rule is discouraging people from booking trips abroad and argue that it is no longer needed because of the already high number of COVID-19 cases, higher vaccinations rates and new treatments for the virus.

They add removing the requirement will, in turn, support the recovery of travel which has struggled to rebound from the pandemic.

The White House did not comment on the request.