IATA and ACI call for a globally consistent approach to airport testing

Both the Airports Council International (ACI) World and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have been working with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce to continue operations in a way that honours the necessary Covid-19 health and safety requirements.

However, as global tourism numbers slump to an all-time low and the economic burden of worldwide travel restrictions continues to be felt, both the IATA and ACI have called for a more systematic approach to testing international airline passengers that reduces the need for long quarantining periods, as this is hampering the recovery of the global aviation industry and, in turn, the global economy.

Borders need to reopen without quarantine requirements

“Airports and airlines are united in the view that a consistent approach to testing passengers will help to restore the confidence of passengers, avoid border closures, and remove cumbersome quarantine measures, which are hampering the genuine efforts of the aviation industry to recover,” said ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira.

He added: “This will better foster recovery among airports, airlines and the travel and tourism sectors, thereby protecting jobs and providing the economic and social benefits that aviation delivers to the local, national, and global communities it serves.”

Systematic testing the key to restoring connectivity

Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO, reasoned that millions of jobs depend on aviation, and that ‘millions of travellers are desperate to reconnect with family, take a hard-earned vacation, or support their international business needs’.

Systematic testing will be the key to restoring connectivity, de Juniac insisted. Both the IATA and ACI agree that fast, accurate and low-cost testing solutions are the way forward.

“We count on ICAO’s leadership to bring governments into agreement on an implementation plan, so that aviation can reconnect people and economies. We need to do this with speed. Each day of delay puts more jobs at risk,” said de Juniac.