AAPA Urges Governments to Ease 'Unduly Onerous Restrictions on Int. Air Travel'

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has urged governments to ease what it says are unduly onerous restrictions on international air travel so that global connectivity can be re-established with evidence-based measures to safeguard public health.

More than six months into the COVID19 pandemic, the Asia Pacific air transport industry is taking initial steps towards restarting international operations by working closely with governments, health authorities and other stakeholders. However, most international flights worldwide continue to be grounded by border closures, and other travel restrictions, even as domestic lockdowns are gradually eased.

The economic consequences of such 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 are expected to become more widespread as the crisis becomes prolonged.

Mr. Subhas Menon, AAPA Director General said, "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. After more than six months, the lack of a framework encompassing harmonized or mutually recognized 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."

Whilst there have been discussions about opening up international air corridors - or travel bubbles, green lanes and fast channels, as they are also called - most such initiatives have so far failed to take off, and the different regulations with regards to enforced quarantine, self-isolation, self-quarantine and even recommended quarantine, only make such goals more difficult to attain, and confusing for travellers.

"Quarantine measures should only be applied selectively for passengers originating from higher risk locations. Another critical area for cooperation is reaching a common understanding on the use of COVID19 testing as a further risk mitigation measure in screening international passengers, based on mutual acceptance. Restoring international air connectivity is a shared challenge. We are calling on all governments to work cooperatively to re-establish global connectivity whilst 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," Mr. Menon added.

See also: Airports, Air Travel and COVID19 - Exclusive Video Interview with SITA's President of Asia Pacific, Sumesh Patel.

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