PARIS- Global airlines blasted governments on Wednesday for worsening the Omicron scare through snap border measures and “rip-off” virus testing regimes, and urged politicians to let travellers make their own decisions based on scientific data.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, predicted “knee-jerk” border restrictions resulting from the coronavirus variant would ease soon, but it was too early to say whether holiday travel would be disrupted.
“We can’t shut down everything when a new variant appears,” Walsh told a news briefing, adding hasty travel bans had penalized countries like South Africa for reporting findings.
However, he predicted the latest health emergency would be short-lived and said it would not impact IATA forecasts which predict a return of air travel to pre-crisis levels from 2024.
Walsh said competition authorities should investigate the prices charged for COVID-19 tests which in some cases bore no relation to their true cost.
Britain’s competition watchdog said in August it would help the government take action against COVID-19 testing companies if it found they were breaching consumer law, amid concerns about the price and reliability of PCR travel tests in the country.
“I hope governments and competition regulators step in and stop consumers being ripped off,” Walsh said. “I do think we need to understand how that has happened and where all the money (has) gone.” EU health ministers discussed measures to try to halt the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Tuesday, with the Netherlands calling for negative tests for incoming travellers from outside the bloc and France urging tests even for those arriving from EU states.
In line with many countries, EU members last month agreed to impose travel curbs on seven southern African nations after they reported several cases of the Omicron variant, which is considered highly infectious.
Despite widespread reports of the variant outside of those African countries, no minister at a regular meeting in Brussels suggested these restrictions should be lifted.
Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge proposed negative PCR tests for all those travelling to the EU from outside the bloc.
“In addition, those not vaccinated or recovered should also be quarantined,” he told ministers during a public session of their meeting.
In the fight against Omicron, French Health Minister Olivier Veran went as far as proposing tests for all travellers, including those coming from EU countries.
Portugal is among EU states that already require a negative test for all air travellers entering the country, even if vaccinated and from other EU states.
The lack of common ground makes it difficult for a coordinated decision to be adopted soon, two EU sources told Reuters.
One source said EU diplomats will discuss the matter on Friday with PCR tests for extra-EU travellers being the most likely option to prevail. However at this stage, there was no consensus and more data on Omicron was needed before a decision could be made, both sources said.
Canada’s ban on travelers from southern African countries and its refusal to recognize these countries’ PCR tests, aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus Omicron variant, is an obstacle for Canadians heading home and increasing international pressure to reverse the measures. – Reuters
