Protocol alignment the way forward for air travel resumption
AS the air travel industry is hard hit by Covid-19 and with higher than average increases in the prices of tickets, it’s unsurprising that the airline industry is facing its biggest challenge in two decades since the event of 9/11 changed the landscape of air travel that put the tourism industry in a tailspin.
The data makes for grim reading. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in April stated that its 290 member carriers were heading for a combined historic net loss of more than US$84 billion this year.
As for Malaysia, the air passenger industry could see a 39 per cent fall in demand, involving an estimated 25.49 million passengers. IATA said the country’s airline industry faces an estimated RM14.4 billion loss in revenue, affecting some 169,700 jobs.
Malaysia Airports reported a staggering 97.8 per cent contraction in passenger traffic movement in May, compared with the same period last year. Internationally, the decline was 99.3 per cent, whereas the domestic sector shrunk by 96.4 per cent.
Basically, there are two scenarios here. The first is the pessimistic view that posits the recovery of the airline industry as uncertain and not guaranteed. The second is the optimistic view whereby the future of the airline industry is tied to the duration of Covid-19.
In fact, there are signs that the optimistic view is taking place.
Recovery is well on the way, albeit rather gradually, driven mainly by short-haul flights or destinations. The Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) has been pivotal in this regard.
Low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd launched an unlimited pass promotion blitz from June 11 to 13, priced at only RM399. Pass holders can redeem unlimited flights across sixteen destinations within Malaysia, with the expiry date on March 31 next year. More than 12,000 flights have been redeemed within the two-day campaign, which was extended to June 15 in response to the overwhelming demand.
Malaysia Airports group chief executive officer Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said since the RMCO, the average number of daily flights, including to international destinations, had increased from 97 to 122 — a 15 per cent increase.
Arguably, the optimistic view is more realistic since Covid-19 has not destroyed, but merely temporarily disrupted globalisation and caused a setback to travelling outside of one’s borders.
Going forward and beyond domestic air travel, our government has broached the topic of reopening the airline industry via green corridors or bubbles outside of our borders with countries that are considered safe for travel.
For a start, Malaysia is pushing for the resumption of intra-Asean travel. Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry secretary-general Noor Zari Hamat believes “intra-Asean is the best bet for the region to restart the tourism industry postCovid-19”.
Reverting to normalcy and easing travel restrictions would, like a centrifugal force, progressively push outwards to the next orbit and outer layer, e.g. the wider AsiaPacific region (such as East Asia and Australasia) and so on.
Of course, this requires consensus and within the context and framework of the green bubble, Singapore, for one, is opting for a step-by-step approach.
Resolving the impasse would require compromises and resolve on all sides and a common Asean protocol for the possibility of future pandemic outbreaks.
There must be some sort of protocol alignment and convergence in Asean for the intra-regional travel driven by digital technologies, such as Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data and even blockchain or distributed ledger technology.
A common regional database of air passengers that is seamless and readily connected to trackand-trace apps and easily accessible by air travel industry players, as well as biometric and fingerprinting identification and radio frequency identification embedded in tickets, for example, should be promoted.
In short, the easing of movement and travel restrictions, domestically and beyond, should be accompanied by a level playing field for all countries and players involved as enabled by digital technology.