EU curbs on US travellers threaten transatlantic airline recovery

Travellers walk through Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Hopes of restoring normal traffic on the transatlantic routes were dashed when the European Union imposed new travel restrictions on US visitors to the member states.

Hopes of restoring normal traffic on the transatlantic routes were dashed when the European Union imposed new travel restrictions on US visitors to the member states. On Monday, the European Union removed the United States from its “safe list” of countries, whose residents can travel to its 27 member states without requirements such as quarantine and testing. Americans have not been explicitly prohibited from going anywhere in Europe. But as of Tuesday, at least one country had put new restrictions on travellers depending on their vaccination status: Italy said it would require unvaccinated travellers to quarantine for five days; vaccinated travellers must take a test for the coronavirus before entering. The list seeks to unify travel rules across the bloc, although it does not bind individual EU nations, which are free to determine their own border policies. Already some EU countries, such as Germany and Belgium, categorise the United States as ‘red’, requiring tests and quarantines, while for neighbours, France and the Netherlands, the United States is still classified as ‘safe’. The list is largely compiled on the basis of the Covid-19 situation in each country, with reciprocity also a factor. The EU safe list now comprises 17 countries, including Canada, Japan and New Zealand. The bloc still lets in most non-EU visitors who are fully vaccinated, although tests and periods of quarantine can apply, depending on the EU country of arrival. Despite EU appeals, Washington does not allow European citizens to visit freely. The bloc itself has been divided between those concerned about the lack of reciprocity and increased US cases and others more reliant on tourism and reluctant to restrict US travellers. “While this is a disappointing development for businesses and people who rely on travel, the data from the US and Israel supports the value and benefit of vaccination,” noted Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “As governments rightly urge their populations to be vaccinated, governments need to be confident in the benefits they bring — including the freedom to travel. At a minimum, those who are fully vaccinated should be free to move without restriction.” Vaccinations are key to delivering the confidence factor, says CAPA Centre for Aviation. Even despite the voracious appetite of the Delta variant of Covid-19, it is clear from behaviour in the US and the European countries, which have higher vaccination rates that there is a strong correlation with confidence levels. “This applies both to the willingness of governments to open borders (in both inbound and outbound directions) and to traveller willingness to get back on board. Nonetheless it is clear that there is a long way to go. With the exception of the near-closed Asia Pacific markets, average yields remain well below 2019 levels,” CAPA said. Industry experts say that to re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation governments need to be confident that they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing Covid-19. This means having accurate information on passengers’ Covid-19 health status. Informing passengers on what tests, vaccines and other measures they require prior to travel, details on where they can get tested and giving them the ability to share their tests and vaccination results in a verifiable, safe and privacy-protecting manner is the key to giving governments the confidence to open borders. To address this challenge, the global body of airlines IATA has launched ‘IATA Travel Pass’. IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that helps travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for Covid-19 tests or vaccines. It is more secure and efficient than current paper processes used to manage health requirements (the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, for example). This is important given the potentially enormous scale of testing or vaccine verifications that will need to be securely managed. When governments have the confidence to lift travel restrictions, people will be eager to travel. A realistic way to achieve this is to ensure massive roll out of vaccines and let in fully vaccinated travellers. More than one and a half years have passed by since the freedom to travel was lost as Covid-19 measures saw either borders close or restrictions placed on travellers. Aviation is a key driver of global economic development. Over a third of all trade by value is sent by air, which makes aviation a key component of business worldwide. The industry transports close to 2bn passengers annually and accounts for nearly 40% of interregional exports of goods. So long as border closures and other restrictions remain in place, the airline industry as well as the global economy can hope only for a tepid recovery in 2021! * Pratap John is Business Editor at Gulf Times. Twitter handle: @PratapJohn