AAPA issues call to lift COVID-19 quarantines

The director general of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA) issued a statement Thursday (23 July) urging governments around the region “to ease unduly onerous COVID-19 restrictions on international air travel to re-establish global connectivity with evidence-based measures to safeguard public health”. “International isolation is not a sustainable, long-term solution for any government given the importance of travel and trade in supporting global economic and social activity,” said Subhas Menon, AAPA’s director general. “After more than six months, the lack of a framework encompassing harmonised or mutually recognised measures that are pragmatic, consistent and based on robust risk assessment, will not only irretrievably hurt the region’s airlines, but more importantly, negatively impact the region’s tourism and trade prospects, as well as millions of livelihoods. We must take a pragmatic approach to restarting flights gradually while mitigating risks to restore confidence and trust in the reliability of everyday air travel. Quarantine measures should only be applied selectively for passengers originating from higher risk locations,” Menon added. “Another critical area for cooperation is reaching a common understanding on the use of COVID-19 testing as a further risk mitigation measure in screening international passengers, based on mutual acceptance.” Some airlines are testing passengers for COVID-19 before they even check in for their flights. (PHOTO: Emirates) 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 Vietjet prepares to start a repatriation flight. (PHOTO: Vietjet) Menon added in the statement that the economic consequences of border shutdowns “are far reaching, with the travel and tourism sectors amongst the hardest hit. Airline failures and major job losses have been announced within the industry, and could become more widespread as the crisis becomes prolonged. Hopes that international air travel would gradually return in the second half of 2020 now seem premature as governments direct attention and resources to fighting resurgent domestic infections”. Menon said efforts by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) with its Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART) guidelines are a “significant step in the right direction” but said “progress has been slow and sporadic on this front. While there have been initiatives and discussions about opening up international air corridors, travel bubbles, green lanes or fast channels, such initiatives have so far failed to take off due to their impractical requirements and inherent unscalability to meet the reasonable expectations of the travelling public”. Airlines like Cathay Pacific have had to ground hundreds of planes and slash capacity as international travel has ground to a virtual halt. (PHOTO: Shutterstock) “Restoring international air connectivity is a shared challenge,” Menon said. “We are calling on all governments to work cooperatively to re-establish global connectivity while maintaining appropriate measures to safeguard public health. Asia-Pacific airlines remain fully committed to working closely with governments and other industry stakeholders to progressively restore international air links in a safe and secure manner, serving the needs of the travelling public and enabling the industry to continue to fulfil its key role in supporting wider global economic recovery.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]