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IATA urges governments to follow World Health Organization advice on new variant
December 10th 2021
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments to follow World Health Organization (WHO) advice and immediately rescind travel bans introduced in response to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Read More » Public health organizations, including the WHO, have advised against travel curbs to contain the spread of Omicron, arguing blanket bans will not prevent the international spread of the disease. The health organisations said the bans can adversely impact global health efforts during a pandemic by dis-incentivizing countries from reporting and sharing epidemiological and sequencing data. “After nearly two years with COVID-19 we know a lot about the virus and the inability of travel restrictions to control its spread,’’ said IATA director-general, Willie Walsh. “But the discovery of the Omicron variant induced instant amnesia among governments. They implemented knee jerk restrictions in complete contravention of advice from the WHO—the global expert.” Walsh said the goal was to move away “from the uncoordinated, evidence absent, risk-unassessed mess that travelers face”. “As governments agreed at ICAO, and in line with the WHO advice, all measures should be time-bound and regularly reviewed,’’ he said. “It is unacceptable that rushed decisions have created fear and uncertainty among travelers just as many of them are about to embark on year-end visits to family or hard-earned vacations.”
