The main trade group representing Asia-Pacific airports, Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific, issued a statement Monday (24 August) calling on governments in the region to replace COVID-19 pandemic quarantines with testing and contact tracing protocols to ensure the sector’s survival amid a worsening situation for airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The latest preliminary forecast figures show that Asia-Pacific and Middle East airports will lose 55 percent and 60 percent passenger volume by the end of the 2020 respectively.
Prior to the pandemic, Asia-Pacific was set to welcome close to 3.5 billion passengers in 2020. The full-year estimate amounts to just above 1.5 billion passengers, a reduction of around 1.9 billion passengers, compared to the pre-COVID-19, business-as-usual scenario. The Middle East was set to welcome 420 million in 2020. Under COVID-19, Middle East airports are expected to welcome 170 million passengers, a reduction of 250 million. Airport revenues, a direct reflection of traffic, are forecasted to decline by approximately US$27 billion in the Asia-Pacific region and US$8 billion in the Middle East by the end of 2020, ACI Asia-Pacific said.
“The latest ACI forecast depicts an ongoing uncertain picture for the airport sector. To put the revenue loss in perspective, it equates to wiping out the revenues of 27 of the region’s busiest hubs. We are now facing at least a three-year recovery period,” said Stefano Baronci, director general, ACI Asia-Pacific.
The airport sector has implemented a raft of precautionary health and hygiene measures in anticipation of the restart of the sector. Current government travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are severely hampering the restart and contributing to the worsening economic situation. ACI Asia-Pacific urges governments to no longer delay relaxing international travel restrictions by replacing quarantine requirements with testing and contact tracing protocols, at least between low-risk countries where the virus situation is well under control and the risk of importation is low.
- IATA coronavirus resource centre
- ICAO coronavirus resource centre
- Johns Hopkins University Virus Tracking Site
- Air Cargo COVID-19 Action Page
- IATA TACT COVID-19 Operational Impact Portal
- IATA Quick Reference for Ground Handling During COVID-19
- IATA Guidance on the Safe Carriage of Cargo in the Passenger Cabin
- WHO: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic
- International Society for Infection Diseases COVID-19 Page
- ICAO CART Take-off Guidance
“Governments should relax current travel restrictions and consider alternative safeguarding measures to ensure the survival of the aviation sector based on a periodically updated risk assessment. The recent announcement from the Government of Singapore replacing the 14-day quarantine with COVID-19 testing for all inbound passengers from some low risk countries is a first step in the right direction to support the economic recovery of the aviation ecosystem,” added Baronci.
Singapore eases some restrictions
The government of Singapore announced the city-state will ease travel restrictions on travellers from Brunei and New Zealand starting in September as a way to help the country’s aviation sector that has been decimated by the pandemic. The government said visitors who have stayed in those two countries in the last consecutive 14 days before their visit to Singapore will not have to serve a stay-home notice. They will be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival at the airport. The government also said it will allow people in Singapore to travel to these two countries, although travellers are advised to check entry requirements imposed by the destination country and take necessary precautionary measures. Visitors from Brunei and New Zealand will need to apply for an Air Travel Pass between seven and 30 days before their intended date of arrival in Singapore. Applications for the passes will be open starting on 1 September.
The government also said that incoming travellers from low-risk countries will serve a shorter stay-home notice of seven days, down from 14 days. Places in this category include Australia (excluding Victoria state), China, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung told reporters that Singapore’s aviation sector is closely linked to the whole economy “so we need to really start to take steps to open up in a safe manner that can revive Changi Airport (and) resuscitate the aviation sector,” he said.
The move to ease border restrictions was welcomed by the main trade body for Asia-Pacific Airlines. The director general of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines, Subhas Menon, said “Singapore’s unilateral opening of its borders to travellers from Brunei and New Zealand is a very important step in the right direction. Cross border travel has been stalled ever since March 2020 in the Asia-Pacific region. The Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines applauds the Singapore government’s efforts to restart air travel in a safe yet progressive way. Adopting a testing regime without onerous quarantine requirements sets a standard worth emulating in facilitating air travel and economic recovery in the region. Asia-Pacific airlines are committed to working closely with governments across the region to explore further initiatives to reopen international air travel corridors, based on objective risk assessments in conjunction with the relevant public health authorities.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) also said it welcomed Singapore’s announcement on the easing of border measures for entry into the country. “COVID-19 has dealt a massive blow to the airline industry and the road to recovery is going to be long and slow,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific. “Our latest forecast indicates that travel demand will not return to 2019 levels until 2024, a year later than had been previously expected. Key to the recovery is the opening of borders and the lifting of travel restrictions and measures such as quarantine. Today’s announcement is positive and a step in the right direction. We hope to work closely with the government so that Singapore’s aviation industry can restart safely while mitigating the possibility of COVID-19 transmission. And we urge other states in the region to look at ways to resume international travel safely, including through the implementation of travel bubbles.”
“The impact of COVID-19 is unprecedented and the airline industry is on life support. The additional financial measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat earlier this week is a big help and greatly appreciated by the industry. And the recent remarks by Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung is reassuring and a breath of fresh air as the government clearly recognises aviation’s strategic contribution to the Singapore economy. Having a viable aviation industry will be critical to economic recovery by ensuring effective connectivity with the rest of the world for the movement of people and goods,” said Clifford.
The global airline industry is expected to lose US$84.3 billion in 2020. Asia-Pacific airlines will post the largest absolute losses at US$29.0 billion. Global passenger numbers are expected to decline by 55 percent compared to 2019.
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Second time in Alan Joyce tenure at QANTAS that he has abandoned Aussies overseas. I think this might be the last time! I know there are compelling financial reasons for the shut down of QANTAS International but the rise and dominance of the ME carriers is inevitable and QANTAS may have difficulty in returning to the Kangaroo route.
I wonder if the government really understand the realities of this situation?