The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched a series of proposals to guarantee safety in air transport in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, where it has expressed its support for the creation of an 'immunity passport' supported by medical evidence.
The proposed temporary measures are intended to provide confidence that governments will need to reopen borders to passenger travel, as well as the confidence that travelers will need to fly again.
“There is no single measure that will reduce the risk and allow for a safe resumption of flights,” said IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac, but he stressed that a series of layered measures Worldwide "can achieve the necessary result." He said that this is "the biggest crisis that aviation has ever faced."
At the airport of departure, IATA expects that the access to the terminal building is restricted exclusively to workers and passengers, with the exception of companions of people with disabilities or minors, and that are carried out temperature controls when accessing the facilities.
It must be ensured that distance in all processes of a flight, including queues, and it will be mandatory use masks for both passengers and workers.
It will be strengthened 'self-service' for billing as much as possible to avoid contact points. As for boarding, this will have to be as efficient as possible, with a redesign that reduces congestion, as well as limiting hand luggage. In addition, cleaning and disinfection of high-contact areas will have to be guaranteed and hand sanitizer will need to be available.
Masks will also be mandatory during the flight, in addition to reducing on-board service to reduce interaction between passengers and crew.
To minimize contact between passengers, queues for bathrooms will be prohibited . Likewise, the cabins will have to be thoroughly disinfected.
IATA stresses that these measures should be temporary, periodically reviewed and replaced when more efficient options are identified, and eliminated if they become unnecessary.
The organization maintains the “hope” that the tests to determine if the passenger is infected at the beginning of the travel process create a “sterile and reassuring” travel environment for travelers and governments.
Therefore, IATA supports the development of an 'immunity passport'' to segregate safe travelers as long as they are backed by medical analysis.
For that reason, They consider quarantine measures unnecessary upon arrival at the destination, as checks would be carried out and contacts would be followed. Health reports would reduce the risk of imported cases becoming 'local chains of transmission'. The same goes for distancing on board, leaving seats empty, as safety would be guaranteed by wearing masks.
IATA believes it is essential that security measures be agreed upon at a global level, and is therefore forwarding this roadmap to all governments, in support of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Post-Covid-19 Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART).
Once at the arrival airport, IATA proposes new temperature control, if required by the authorities, and automated processes for customs and border control, through mobile applications or biometric technologies.
Source: Reuters
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