Aviation return urgent necessity

The return of aviation is an urgent necessity for countries’ economies to start reviving. Aviation contributes to 35 percent of international trade, which is estimated at $2.7 trillion, and 57 percent of international touristic activity, which contributes to creating nearly 65.5 million jobs.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) hoped to celebrate its 75th anniversary under better circumstances than such difficult times, as it never occurred to it that fleets of airline companies would stop flying and remain on the tarmac for more than four months so far. IATA seeks to overcome the crisis but the circumstances are contrary to what is hoped for.

IATA appeals to governments to quickly implement temporary health measures to limit the risks of the coronavirus, while taking guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for instructions for air travel to be followed by airlines to guarantee safe operations, especially after making sure that aircraft manufacturers implement a strict sterilization system inside the cabin with HEPA filters that are highly efficient in cleaning the air of microscopic germs such as bacteria, viruses and fungi.

The regional collapse of aviation traffic is unprecedented and did not occur previously in history. Demand for transporting passengers by air in the Middle East dropped by 97.3 percent in April compared to the same month in 2019, by 96.6 percent in North America, 98.1 percent in Europe and 96 percent in Latin America, while it dropped by 88.5 percent in Asia Pacific and by 98.3 percent in Africa.