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International Air Transport Association offers alternative to “lop-sided” quarantine process
June 26th 2020
International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said this week there were alternatives to quarantine measures that would help reduce the risk of importing COVID-19 while allowing travel and tourism to resume as international borders opened up. Read More »
Although international air travel was heavily restricted at present, some national borders were open to foreign visitors, albeit with quarantine rules in place.
"The economic incentive to allow foreign tourists I believe is valid," de Juniac told reporters this week. "But we fully understand, after taking severe pain in the lockdown phase, that no country wants to import COVID-19. Quarantine measures may play a role in keeping people safe, but they also will keep many unemployed."
As an alternative to quarantine, IATA this week put forward a series of measures with "layers of protection" in two main areas: reducing the risk of imported cases via travellers and mitigating risk in cases where an infected person does travel.
To reduce the risk of someone bringing the coronavirus into a country, IATA said those with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should be discouraged from flying. Governments should have screening measures in place such as health declarations and temperature checks for departing passengers. Passengers arriving from countries perceived to be of higher risk could be tested on arrival.
IATA said tests for COVID-19 should be under taken before travel to prevent airport congestion and avoid potential contagion in the travel process and the results mutually recognised by governments and securely transmitted to the relevant authorities.
In terms of mitigation, IATA noted the recent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) “Takeoff” guidelines such as the use of masks, sanitization, health declarations and social distancing where possible.
De Juniac said countries should have, as a back-up measure, processes in place for contact tracing should a person be detected as infected after arrival, with rapid identification and isolation of contacts to contain the risk of COVID-19 spread. Mobile apps had a role to play in this, IATA said, provided privacy concerns were addressed.
“A layered approach to safety has made flying the safest way to travel while still enabling the system to function efficiently," de Juniac said. "Quarantine is a lop-sided solution that protects one and absolutely fails at the other. We need government leadership to deliver a balanced protection."
