The suggested measures include preventing sick people from travelling and lowering the risk of transmission when a passenger discovers they have Covid-19 after their arrival. The focus of IATA’s strategy is stopping people with symptoms from travelling, which should be assisted by airlines allowing flexible bookings.

IATA is also urging governments to test travellers who come from countries with high rates of new infections. These tests should take place before arriving at the departure airport to avoid spreading the virus among other travellers.

Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General, said: “Imposing quarantine measures on arriving travellers keeps countries in isolation and the travel and tourism sector in lockdown. Fortunately, there are policy alternatives that can reduce the risk of importing Covid-19 infections while still allowing for the resumption of travel and tourism that are vital to jump-starting national economies.”