ACI and IATA urge Middle East to adopt aviation guidelines to accelerate recovery

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Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) are joining  the International Civil Aviation Organization  Middle East (ICAOMID) in urging   governments in the Middle East  region  to  rapidly  implement  ICAO’s global guidelines for restoring air connectivity in order to help ensure the safe and harmonised restart of aviation in the region. These guidelines are contained in  Takeoff: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis, which was approved  by  the ICAO Council  on 1 June 2020.
“Air connectivity is critical to economic and sustainable development in the Middle East, and effective recovery of air transport in the region is essential to support the economy post-Covid-19. The key principles, recommendations and guidelines of CART Report and Take-off Document, provide governments with a framework for restarting aviation while protecting public health, and are intended to inform and align the Covid-19 recovery roadmaps established by States or industry,” said ICAO’s acting regional director for the Middle East, Mohamed  Smaoui
“This is a ‘living guidance’ which will be continuously updated based on the latest medical and operational advice and risk assessments as the world starts to reconnect,” he added. “Governments and industry stakeholders can have certainty as they take action to get the world flying again”.
 Muhammad  Albakri, IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East added, “We are counting on governments in the Middle East to implement the  ICAO  Take-off  Guidance  quickly and in a harmonised and mutually recognised way, because the world wants to travel again and needs airlines to play a key role  in the economic recovery. The guidance  recognises that social distancing is not possible on an aircraft, therefore supports  face coverings  as part of a layered risk mitigation  approach.  And  recommends contact tracing, which should give governments the confidence to open borders without quarantine measures.  Local deviations and exceptions will damage public confidence and make it harder to operate, effectively  slowing  down the industry restart.  This would be harmful to public health and the economic recovery”.

“We urge  the  Middle East  states to  swiftly  implement the guidelines so we can ensure truly harmonised and  effective measures across the region and passengers can return to air travel with confidence. As rightly stated in the ICAO guidance, states should continuously readjust  the measures depending on their effectiveness to reduce the risk of transmission and scalability, especially as soon as traffic ramps up again to certain volumes  of traffic. Airports need health authorities to work cooperatively with them to adapt physical distancing to specific layout and  operations,” added Stefano Baronci, Director General, ACI Asia-Pacific.

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Ever since his first flight on a TriStar, Adam has loved air travel, and since becoming editor of the Aircraft Interiors International brand he has really enjoyed the opportunity to be involved with the latest aircraft and airline products before they are even launched. Adam co-ordinates the running of the magazine, from commissioning articles and artwork, to ensuring that high standards of quality are maintained, as well as managing online content. Adam is proud to sit on the jury of the Crystal Cabin Awards and to have laid on the bed in Etihad's Residence.

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