4 minute read

Willie Walsh, Director General

Contents

2022 – 01

Comment

5 Willie Walsh, Director General

Time for governments worldwide to ease restrictions for travelers

38 IATA Opinion: Marie Owens Thomsen, Chief Economist at IATA

Highlighting the role that aviation plays in global economics

Digest

10 IATA and industry update

Omicron hits improving passenger demand, Cargo still sending strong signals, HML is step forward for One ID

14 Data: In numbers Demand for aviation

CEO Interviews

16 Keeping in step for recovery

CEO at TAP Air Portugal, Christine Ourmières-Widener, says all stakeholders need to be in alignment

22

16 36

26 Restoring the network

Peter Ingram, CEO at Hawaiian Airlines, on creating a rich experience for travelers

Features

22 Cybercrime

Taking aviation cybersecurity to the next level to prevent cyber attacks

30 Diversity & inclusion

Inspirational Role Model at the IATA D&I Awards, Dr. Harpreet A. De Singh

32 Finance

IATA Pay solution moves payments forward for customers and airlines

34 Wellbeing

Cabin crew face a stressful time as momentum for recovery struggles

36 Americas region

Collaborative decisions are vital to aviation progress in the Americas

IATA Corporate Communications

Vice President Anthony Concil Creative Direction Richard McCausland Assistant Director Chris Goater www.iata.org

Editorial

Editor Graham Newton

Head of content production

DeeDee Doke Production editor Vanessa Townsend Senior designer Gary Hill Picture editor Claire Echavarry

Production

Production manager Jane Easterman +44 (0)20 7880 6248 jane.easterman@redactive.co.uk Publishing director Aaron Nicholls

Advertising Business development manager

+44 (0)20 7324 2763 airlines@redactive.co.uk

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Airlines. ISSN 1360-6387

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Time to ease travel restrictions

The current situation of travel

restrictions is a mess. There is one problem—COVID-19. But there seem to be more unique solutions to managing travel and COVID-19 than there are countries to travel to. Indeed, research from the Migration Policy Institute has counted more than 100,000 travel measures around the world that create complexity for passengers, airlines, and governments to manage.

IATA is calling for all travel barriers to be removed for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine. And non-vaccinated travelers should enjoy quarantine-free journeys with proof of a negative pre-departure test.

Because travelers, with very few exceptions, present no greater risk than exists in the general population. A study by Oxera and Edge Health demonstrated that because Omicron is highly prevalent in the United Kingdom, if all travel testing requirements were removed the country would not see any impact on Omicron case numbers or hospitalizations.

We need simple, predictable, and practical means of living with the virus that don’t constantly default to de-connecting the world. We must aim at a future where international travel faces no greater restriction than visiting a shop, attending a public gathering, or riding the bus.

This aligns with the advice from public health experts to shift the policy focus from an individual’s health status toward policies focusing on population-wide protection. Governments and the travel industry must be well-prepared for the transition and ready to remove the burden of measures that disrupt travel.

As the fi rst quarter of the year is key to bookings for the peak-northern summer season, it is important to provide certainty to potential travelers as early as possible.

Willie Walsh IATA Director General

The escalation of events in the Ukraine is deeply saddening. We hope for an early and peaceful resolution. For aviation, safety is always the top priority.

On US pre-departure testing.

“Removing the pre-departure testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers will greatly support the recovery of travel and aviation in the US and globally without increasing the spread of COVID-19 in the US population.”

On the UK’s decision that airlines will need to use 70% of slots this summer.

“The UK government decision on slots, proposing the highest slot use threshold in the world, makes a mockery of their claims to support the airline industry recovery and to be champions of the environment.”

On strong cargo results for 2021.

“Air cargo had a stellar year in 2021. Growth opportunities, however, were lost due to the pressures of labor shortages and constraints across the logistics system.”

Airlines are hopeful of a positive northern hemisphere spring and summer to drive

demand toward pre-pandemic levels. For that to happen, however, governments must remove all travel barriers for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine. A study has demonstrated the extremely limited impact of travel restrictions on controlling the spread of the virus.

IMAGE: GETTY

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