Airline alliances call for universal travel standards

ONEWORLD, SKYTEAM AND STAR ALLIANCE have urged governments to agree on a common set of travel and health standards to enable the safe reopening of borders. Ahead of June’s G7 meeting, the alliances called on the government “to lead the world in aligning to the following travel measures to reconnect travellers with the world, safely and securely”:

■ Fully vaccinated passengers being exempt from quarantine;

■ Accessible, affordable and consistent testing;

■ Digital processes to manage travel health credentials including vaccine and test certificates;

■ G7 states to agree to common requirements and standards for health credentials as set out by the World Health Organisation and International Civil Aviation Organisation;

■ Connecting passengers at airports not being subject to additional testing or quarantine restrictions at the point of transfer if remaining in the transit zone. The alliances cited a recent OECD study estimating that international tourism declined by around 80 per cent in 2020 and warnings from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) that up to 174 million jobs could be at risk globally. “International air travel and tourism are vital to the global economy,” said CEOs Kristin Colvile (Skyteam), Rob Gurney (Oneworld) and Jeffrey Goh (Star Alliance).

“With considerable data now available to support government decisions in managing risks, decisive action from G7 members to open borders and support clear, consistent, and datadriven measures, would remove uncertainty, particularly around testing and quarantine.

“Vaccination will have a key role in the restart of international air travel and tourism. We strongly advocate for governments to accept accredited vaccination as a safe and appropriate reason to avoid quarantines. In the meantime, while we wait for the global population to be substantially vaccinated, it is important to have robust and consistent testing protocols, along with interoperable digital solutions developed to facilitate the customer journey.”