Airports Council International (ACI) World and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – are calling again for global governments to use COVID-19 testing and not quarantines as a means to safely re-open borders and re-establish global connectivity and to prevent the systemic collapse of the aviation industry with non-debt generating financial support.
The dual measures would protect countries from the importation of COVID-19 cases, avert an employment crisis in the travel and tourism sector, and ensure that the critical aviation structure remains viable and able to support the economic and social benefits on which the world relies.
The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) estimates that 46 million jobs are at risk because of the loss of connectivity caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The vast majority of these (41.2 million jobs) are in the travel and tourism sector which relies on aviation. The remainder (4.8 million jobs) are spread across direct employment in aviation, including airports and airlines. The viability of the airline sector to support employment is being challenged by the severe and prolonged fall in business. ACI estimates the airport industry will suffer a 60 percent reduction in revenues, reaching an unprecedented decline of US$104.5 billion. IATA estimates that airline revenues will be down at least 50 percent ($419 billion compared to $838 billion in 2019).
ACI and IATA are aligned in calling for urgent government action to introduce widespread and coordinated testing of passengers to enable quarantine requirements to be removed. Without this action, it is not an exaggeration that the industry is facing collapse
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