- IATA is calling for systematic pre-departure COVID-19 testing instead of open borders with quarantine
- According to IATA’s analysis, COVID-19 vaccine won’t be widely available till the second half of 2021
THoD Newsdesk, Canada: On Monday, the Director-General of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, stated that countries across the world should not wait for the majority of people to be vaccinated against coronavirus. As per his notions, the countries need to open their borders by implementing systematic pre-departure testing, instead. Air travel has seen a flat curve in 2020, in wake of the pandemic and travel restrictions, stemming from it and IATA represents around 290 airlines across the world, comprising 82% of global air traffic.
In a pre-recorded video message at the IATA Global Media Days event, Juniac was quoted saying, “Our own surveys show that the vast majority of travellers treat quarantine as they would a complete border closure. They just won’t travel.” He further added that IATA is calling for systematic pre-departure COVID-19 testing instead of open borders with quarantine. Juniac also said that he wanted to emphasise on how critical it is to open borders now and the reason why good news on vaccine progress “should not distract from activating testing fast”.
The DG also added, “We have plans in place to support vaccine distribution. It will probably be the biggest airlift in history. But we literally cannot afford to wait for the majority to receive the vaccine before we reopen our borders. We must start reopening now without delay.” According to IATA’s analysis, COVID-19 vaccine won’t be widely available till the second half of 2021. Juniac even noted that safely restarting global connectivity will help kickstart the global economy, save jobs and improve lives, which is why it is a top priority.
