International Travel: Open Air Travel For Vaccinated Passengers, Says Global Airlines’ Association

International air travel should be opened up for at least those passengers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, global airlines’ association IATA told news agency IANS. As per the association, a comprehensive system should be set in place that allows hassle free travel for those inoculated. Moreover, the system should also ensure testing and verification of those passengers who have not been inoculated but without increasing the already set restrictions. “Vaccination and testing have a role to play in the recovery of international travel. It is not an option to wait for vaccines to be widely available before reopening borders. The global vaccine roll-out is likely to take time,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Deputy Director General and Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific. “That’s why testing is the alternative for those who do not have access to vaccines or are unable to be vaccinated for various reasons,” Clifford added. Cannot maintain a zero case load approach According to Clifford, it is not sustainable to maintain a zero case load approach, especially with scientists believing that Covid-19 will end up becoming an endemic. “We have been and continue to urge governments to make data driven decisions to manage the risks of Covid-19 when reopening their borders to international travel,” he said. Delta variant cases remain a matter of concern Recently, independent data modelling conducted by Airbus and Boeing respectively have shown that strategies without quarantine measures can enable international travel to restart with a very low risk of introduction of Covid-19 to the travel destination. On the global level, vaccination drives have accelerated, thereby, triggering hopes for a faster economic rival of the world economy. However, rising Delta variant cases around the world remains a key concern for governments globally. “We are seeing governments around the world starting to open borders to vaccinated travelers. More than 20 countries have wholly or partially lifted restrictions for vaccinated travellers. In Asia, while there is a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand, and Thailand has implemented a sandbox in Phuket, the borders of most countries are pretty much closed to international travel,” Clifford said.