Asia-Pacific airline bosses back global COVID testing regime

The chief executives of key Asia-Pacific airlines have issued a joint call for a global COVID testing regime as part of protocols aimed at kick-starting the shattered aviation industry. They have warned that cross-border cooperation and collaboration is urgently needed to restart the aviation industry and avoid further economic damage. The call from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines’ (AAPA) annual Assembly of Presidents came in joint declaration firmly supporting the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Council Aviation Recover Task Force (CART) guidance on dealing with the pandemic. READ: FAA warns airlines of disinfection safety risks. The industry wants protocols for dealing with COVID-19 to be the same at borders throughout the world and to include “globally accepted and mutually recognized” rapid testing techniques rather than quarantine. The airline chiefs endorsed setting up a testing framework prior to departure “based on mutually-recognized accredited facilities delivering rapid, accurate, affordable and scalable testing” as an effective approach to safely restart international air travel. They criticized blanket quarantine procedures as a significant deterrent to air travel that should be reviewed in the context of rapid testing and other risk mitigation measures. “The ICAO CART guidelines established earlier this year provide practical guidance to governments and industry to restart aviation and recover from COVID-19 in a coordinated manner while keeping the safety, health and well being of the traveling public as a top priority,’’ said AAPA director-general Subhas Menon. “Inconsistent and patchy measures create unpredictability and confusion for both travelers and airlines while hampering the meaningful restart of cross border air transport. ‘’The prolonged closure of borders has had deep and lasting effects on the public and the wider economy. “It has now become critical to improve collaboration and cooperation across borders so as to mitigate further damage and jump-start recovery efforts. “Asia-Pacific airlines are firmly committed to working with governments and other stakeholders to rebuild passenger confidence and pave the way for the meaningful recovery of travel and tourism as essential services supporting commerce and livelihoods within the region and across the world.’’ In other resolutions, the Asia-Pacific airline bosses also renewed a call for governments to respect the integrity of ICAO’s global carbon emissions scheme, known as CORSIA. They said governments should not apply their own duplicate requirements on international aviation CO2 emissions and should support the use of sustainable aviation fuel to help the industry reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. They also called on governments to refrain from increasing aviation levies in any form and to support Asia-Pacific airlines as they faced unprecedented financial and operational challenges.