Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance urge universal travel standards.
To facilitate the safe restart of international travel and restore the value contributed by travel and tourism to the world’s economy, the three global airline alliances Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance are calling on G7 governments, at their upcoming leadership summit on June 11-13, to agree on a common set of travel and health standards to enable the safe reopening of borders.
The CEOs of the three global alliances – Kristin Colvile at SkyTeam, Rob Gurney for Oneworld, and Jeffrey Goh of Star Alliance – said: “International air travel and tourism are vital to the global economy. 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 data-driven measures, would remove uncertainty, particularly around testing and quarantine.”
While vaccination programs offer hope in some markets, varying – and often fast-changing – rules and procedures across countries and at different airport hubs, continue to create confusion and stress for customers and disrupt travel. To provide much-needed clarity, the alliances – which collectively represent almost two-thirds of global air capacity prior to COVID-19 – urge G7 governments to lead the world in aligning to the following travel measures to reconnect travelers with the world, safely and securely:
- Fully vaccinated passengers should be exempt from quarantine.
- COVID-19 testing should be easily accessible, affordable and consistent.
- Connecting passengers at airports should not be subject to additional testing or quarantine restrictions at the point of transfer if remaining in the transit zone.
Further, the three global airline alliances support IATA’s call for governments to adopt digital processes to manage travel health credentials including vaccine and test certificates, and for G7 member states to agree to common requirements and standards for health credentials as set out by the World Health Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization.
Related Topics
Negotiations between Lufthansa and ITA Airways move forward
ITA Airways reports net loss of 486 million euros in 2022
Volotea announces flights to Granada and Venice from Asturias
Iberia increases capacity by 6% this Easter week
Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial líder en América Latina.