Europe
Coordination can overcome the cracks 32
A unified response is needed to help carriers overcome European fragmentation, as Graham Newton reports
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uropean carriers suffered a 73.7% traffic decline in 2020 versus 2019, making it one of the worst affected regions. Combined, Europe’s airlines lost €27 billion. The reliance on international traffic has seen the decline continue in 2021. March, for example, saw an 88.3% decline in traffic compared with March 2019 and a load factor below 50%. “Pre-COVID, Europe had efficient connections,” says Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe. “The European Union (EU) space was a single market, similar to the US domestic market. That intra-EU connectivity has gone. What we have now is as fragmentation.” Anything that can speed the recovery of European carriers and improve their future efficiency has to be welcomed. IATA Travel Pass contains all the passenger details necessary for safe, efficient travel. It will inform passengers on what tests, vaccines, and other measures they require prior to travel, details on where they can get tested, and, most importantly, the ability to share their tests and vaccination results in a verifiable manner that also protects privacy. The aim is to give airlines and governments
“Europe talks a good game about the importance of competitiveness. It’s time to put action behind those words with the SES” Willie Walsh, IATA Director General Airlines 2021 – 02
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accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status and therefore the confidence that they can restart operations and re-open borders. And most importantly, it can be integrated with the EU COVID-19 Certificate. The interoperable, secure, and GDPRcompliant health certificate represents an essential tool to facilitate the free movement of people within the EU and reopen travel in a safe and responsible way. The EU has also called for free and accessible testing and full equality so that no additional measures, such as quarantine or further testing, should be imposed on travelers presenting a valid EU COVID-19 Certificate. “The certificate will help restore confidence,” says Schvartzman. “It will bring something that has been missing; a coordinated and harmonized set of rules to re-establish connectivity. And thanks to the integration with IATA Travel Pass, that harmonization and connectivity can spread to the rest of world.” Indeed, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EC), has said that the EU will grant unrestricted access to vaccinated travelers from the United States. IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh called it “a step in the right direction.” He added: “It gives hope to people for so many reasons—to travel, to reunite with loved ones, to develop business airlines.iata.org
24/06/2021 16:17
