Pavlovian response to introduce travel restrictions will not stop Omicron
These last few days have been among the most frustrating of the year. The discovery of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa—Omicron—has panicked governments into once again restricting or entirely removing the freedom to travel. After nearly two years of dealing with COVID-19, we should have progressed beyond these knee-jerk, uncoordinated, Pavlovian-like responses, to […]
Statement on New COVID-19 B 1.1.529 Omicron Variant
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General following the recent emergence of the Omicron variant. «Governments are responding to the risks of the new coronavirus variant in emergency mode causing fear among the traveling public. As quickly as possible we must use the experience of the last two years to move to a coordinated data-driven approach that […]
Twelve-month European COVID Certificate Validity Would Protect Fragile Recovery in Travel and Tourism
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for caution in response to a European Commission Recommendation that the EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) should only remain valid for up to nine months after the second vaccination dose, unless a booster jab is administered. “The EU DCC is a great success in driving a common continent-wide […]
Keys to Safely Restoring Global Mobility: Simplicity, Predictability, Practicality
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to adopt simple, predictable and practical measures to safely and efficiently facilitate the ramping-up of international travel as borders re-open. Specifically, IATA urged governments to focus on three key areas: Simplified health protocols Digital solutions to process health credentials COVID-19 measures proportionate to risk levels with […]
Delta ready to welcome up to 5.6M customers during Thanksgiving travel period
The Thanksgiving holiday period is expected to return to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Delta anticipating up to 5.6 million passengers from Nov. 19-30. To support customers, Delta has increased staffing levels across the operation including in customer service and reservations, and new flight attendants have graduated to accommodate the growing […]
TSA Screens Most Single-Day Passengers of Pandemic Era
The holiday travel season is clearly underway. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened the highest number of passengers at U.S. airports on Friday, November 19, since the COVID-19 pandemic began in late February to mid-March 2020. The final count was 2,242,956 passengers who flew on Friday, the highest single-day number in more than 20 months […]
The GBTA’s 4 conditions for business travel recovery
The Global Business Travel Association has released the results of its latest business travel index—the BTI Outlook—which provides an analysis of business travel in 2021 with projections for 2022 and beyond, including post-COVID-19 recovery forecasts. Forecasts and Analysis Highlights Global business travel activity has begun its rebound from the sharp downturn brought about by the […]
Passengers Want to Use Biometrics to Speed up Processes and Eliminate Queuing Post Pandemic
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the results of its 2021 Global Passenger Survey (GPS), which delivered two main conclusions: Passengers want to use biometric identification if it expedites travel processes. Passengers want to spend less time queuing. “Passengers have spoken and want technology to work harder, so they spend less time ‘being processed’ […]
ICAO Council recognizes G20 calls to restart international travel
During its latest meeting, the 36 States of the ICAO Governing Council recognized the G20’s latest calls “to restart international travel in a safe and orderly manner,” and consistent with the work of ICAO, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other relevant international organizations. In the meeting, which was taking place as part of the […]
Qantas Expansion Shows Power of Vaccinations in Travel Recovery
After standing down almost all of its entire international network for more than a year, Qantas Airways is coming back with a vengeance. The carrier is adding Delhi to its map, accelerating the return of its Airbus A380s and will resume flights to seven long-haul destinations weeks — and in some cases more than a […]
