Covid risk like alcohol and cars: peak airline body IATA

Covid-19 should be ‘managed’ like any other risk to safety so borders can reopen, says the International Air Transport Association.

International Air Transport Association director general Willie Walsh has stepped up calls for the resumption of international travel, saying Covid-19 should be managed like another safety risk, such as drinking alcohol or driving a car. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

The International Air Transport Association has compared the risk posed by Covid-19 to drinking alcohol and driving cars, and says it should be handled much the same.

In the latest appeal to governments to relax border restrictions and allow quarantine free travel, IATA director-general Willie Walsh said Covid-19 was something to be “managed” just like other risks to health.

“We accept many things in society that we know come with risks – from consuming alcoholic beverages to how we drive. We don’t ban these activities,” said Mr Walsh.

“We have some common sense rules and the information needed to make sensible decisions about how to manage these risks.”

He said the ongoing requirement for mandatory quarantine by many governments was impeding freedom of movement, discouraging international travel and destroying jobs in travel and tourism.

IATA analysis showed an estimated 4.8 million aviation supported jobs were expected to go by 2022.

In Australia, 11,500 jobs have been lost across the major airlines, and on Tuesday Cathay Pacific announced the closure of its Australian base, putting 121 pilots out of work.

“Data from the UK tells us that we can and must do better. Almost 98 per cent of those detained because of universal quarantine measures tested negative for the virus,” said Mr Walsh.

“We now have more than a year of global data that can help governments make more targeted decisions on international travel.”

IATA was hopeful the G7 summit scheduled for June 11 to 13 in the UK would agree on a plan to co-ordinate the return of the freedom to travel, he said.

The UK, US, France, Japan, Germany, Canada and Italy make up the G7 along with representatives of the European Union.

“Data can and should drive policies on restarting global travel that manage Covid-19 risks to protect populations, revive livelihoods and boost economies,” Mr Walsh said.

“This can keep the risk of importing Covid-19 cases low, including variants of concern.”

He pointed to modelling undertaken by aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus focused largely on the use of Covid testing for travellers, pre-departure and post-arrival.

Boeing’s model of a Covid test 72-hours before departure and a single antigen test 24-hours before flying, and then the same post-arrival, was shown to be as effective as a 14-day quarantine in lowering the risk to the destination country.

“The economic and social cost of the blanket measures taken by most governments to date has been unnecessarily high,” said Mr Walsh.

“With this modelling, we are demonstrating that we can be smart with calibrated travel policies that address the risks, enable travel, and protect people. Everybody can respect a data-driven decision. That is the way back to normality.”

Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine backed IATA’s calls for a “risk management” approach to Covid-19 in recognition that the virus was not likely to disappear anytime soon.

“Governments and industry must work together to rebuild global connectivity while managing the associated risks,” said Prof Heymann.

“Airbus, Boeing and IATA have demonstrated some possible solutions. Now we need more intense and transparent dialogue between governments and the airline industry to move from models to policy and ultimately facilitate international travel.”