The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has welcomed the issuing, by the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO’s) Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART), of the second edition of 'Take-off: Guidance for Air Travel through the Covid-19 Public Health Crisis'. Iata is the representative body for the global airline industry and ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations.

“The public should be reassured,” stated Iata director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. “The ‘Take-off’ guidance will keep flying safe through this pandemic with recommendations that combine the best advice of public health authorities such as the World Health Organisation with the technical expertise of aviation regulators and operators.”

CART combines the expertise of ICAO with that of its member States, industry associations and public health authorities. The first edition of “Take-off” was issued in June, as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It established a framework for multiple mutually-reinforcing biosafety measures which were already being enforced by the airline industry, such as passenger health declaration forms, health screening, routine sanitation and disinfecting, physical distancing, the wearing of face masks or coverings and contact tracing. 

The second edition of the guidance includes three new recommendations, which Iata fully supported. One of these is that countries that are thinking of creating public health corridors (PHCs – popularly called ‘travel bubbles’) with other countries should actively share information with those other countries, so that these PHCs could be implemented in a harmonised way. ICAO could provide assistance in the creation of such ‘travel bubbles’ with the PHC ‘Implementation Package’ that it has drawn up.

A second recommendation concerned guidance material for internationally harmonised Covid-19 testing. A 'Manual on Testing and Cross Border Risk Management Measures' is currently being developed. This will greatly facilitate Iata’s campaign that systematic testing before departure should be carried out on all international air passengers.

The third new recommendation is that, while temporary adaptations of certain aviation regulatory processes (adaptations necessary to face the pandemic but which do not undermine aviation safety standards) could be continued until March 31 next year, they should not be continued after that date. Further, flight crew should be classified as key workers, benefit from PHCs, and be enabled to have access to medical and training facilities, such as flight simulators. Use of the latter would allow flight crews to maintain their certifications and proficiency.

“By addressing the need for harmonised Covid-19 testing requirements as part of a multilayered approach, CART is also contributing to building confidence among governments to manage the risks of Covid-19 importation while removing barriers to travel such as quarantines,” pointed out De Juniac. “The aim is to safely reconnect the world and these recommendations are moving us forward.”