ACI Asia-Pacific repeats need for harmonised COVID-19 testing protocols

ACI Asia-Pacific today reiterated its call for globally consistent and harmonised testing protocols following the release of year-end figures showing higher than forecasted traffic and economic losses across the region.

It reveals that the Middle East has become one of the world’s hardest-hit regions with traffic 70% down on 2019 – 10% more than forecasted.

And the story is not much better for Asia-Pacific, which despite benefitting from the rebound of domestic travels in key markets, is expected to end 2020 with passenger numbers 60% below last year’s levels – 4% higher than forecasted.

In absolute numbers, the two regions are forecasted to lose more than 2.3 billion passengers by year-end compared to ACI’s pre-COVID-19 projections.

CI Asia-Pacific director general, Stefano Baronci, said: “The constantly-evolving impact of the pandemic has hit the Middle East region more than previously forecasted, ending the year just shy of USD 10 billion revenue loss.

“The previously anticipated negative outlook for Asia-Pacific is largely confirmed, amounting to about USD 29.6 billion.

“The results forecasted in 2020 depicts an unbearable situation for airports in the region and unsustainable for 2021. The promise of quarantine-free travel corridors provided much-needed hope for the recovery of passenger numbers and revenue but, despite recent encouraging attempts, remains an illusion.”

He insists that consistency and harmonisation in cross-border travel protocols are key to the restoration of public confidence and a sustained and effective recovery of the air transport and tourism sectors.

ACI Asia-Pacific continues to urge resolute action by states working with each other and with industry to implement harmonised cross-border measures, including a risk-based approach to COVID-19 testing that can ensure safe, smooth and sustainable air transport, as well as quicken the pace of the restart of travel and tourism.

Guidance and recommendations are contained in ICAO’s Testing and Cross-border Risk Management Measures Manual, a risk-based assessment tool that can reduce quarantine measures.

The manual provides clear guidance on how to limit the use of quarantine, depending on the risk tolerance established by each country and on the estimated risk of translocation of COVID-19 from one state to another.

“The internationally-agreed framework on testing prepared by ICAO with the assistance of the WHO provides a key recommendation that all states should follow: measures should be proportionate to the risk of COVID-19 transmission,” stated Baronci.

“In most cases, passengers from low or equivalent risk countries, if tested negative as part of a multilayer risk management strategy, should not be quarantined, similarly to what is applied to the population of the destination country.”