The Airports Council International (ACI) Europe and the International Air Transport Association (Iata) have called for all remaining Covid restrictions on travel in Europe and the Schengen area – incorporating 26 passport-free countries – to be lifted.
This includes all testing requirements, the need to present proof of vaccination, or completion of a Passenger Locator Form (PLF).
A statement issued by ACI and Iata said: “This includes dropping mask-wearing for travel within or between States where it is no longer required in other indoor environments.
The statement adds: “Covid-19, and specifically the Omicron variant, is now pervasive throughout all of Europe, and population immunity is at such levels that the risk of hospitalisation or death has dramatically reduced, especially for vaccinated people. States are adopting surveillance strategies to ensure public health, in the same way as they do for other coronaviruses and infectious diseases.
“Many European states have lifted domestic Covid restrictions, such as the need to provide health credentials to enter social events, or the requirement to wear masks in public spaces.
“Contact tracing efforts are also being stood down, rendering PLFs for international travel redundant. As European countries open up and remove restrictions, it is only logical to remove similar restrictions from air transport.”
Iata and ACI Europe also presented further evidence in support of aligning air transport rules with domestic regulations.
New research by financial and economics consultancy, Oxera, in tandem with medical data portal, Edge Health, published today shows that even if a new variant is discovered and travel restrictions are introduced immediately, this only delays the peak of infections by a maximum of only four days.
In reality, by the time that a new variant emerges, is identified, and restrictions are put in place, the variant is likely already circulating in communities around the world. In a scenario where restrictions are delayed by a week from identification, the peak in infections per 100 000 people is only delayed by a maximum of two days.
These negligible health benefits are therefore outweighed by the significant social and economic damage caused by the negative impact on air travel.
“March 11 marked exactly two years since the World Health Organization announced that Covid-19 was a global pandemic,” Iata and ACI said.
“In that time, we have seen increasing evidence that border restrictions are ineffective. The latest research from Oxera and Edge Health confirms that, by the time a variant of concern is identified and restrictions are implemented, cross-border transmission will already have happened.
“Europe’s population immunity is strong and Covid-19 is essentially now an endemic disease. The time has come to focus their Covid efforts on surveillance and remove remaining intra-EU restrictions. This will free people to travel, and support jobs returning to the European air transport and travel sectors,” said Rafael Schvartzman, Iata’s regional vice president for Europe
“The independent research and modelling published today show that governments can lift restrictions with confidence – both for today and for any future variants of concern.
“Travel restrictions have proven to be a blunt instrument with little to no impact on virus transmission. Removing all Covid-19 restrictions will finally fully restore the freedom to travel.
“That will be a much-needed boost for the whole travel and tourism sector, which has been forced to shed hundreds of thousands of jobs during the pandemic,” said Olivier Jankovec, ACI’s general director.
In the light of the new research and increasing signs that the severity of Covid-19 is becoming closer to that of seasonal influenza, ACI Europe and Iata wrote jointly to ministers of transport and health throughout EU member states, requesting them to:
- remove all health-related travel and border restrictions ahead of the summer season, at least on intra-EEA flights, specifically testing, contact tracing, and vaccine certificates;
- align the health restrictions applicable to aviation to those applied nationally, particularly with reference to mask mandates; and
- allow those vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine to travel into the EEA from third countries with the same conditions as those passengers vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine.
