Governments in Asia need to speed up the opening of international borders, says the chief of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.
Asia should be at the forefront of opening up cross-border travel ‘as the first to confront the virus’ AAPA director general Subhas Menon told the Nikkei Asian Review.
There is ‘irony’ that Europe is well ahead of Asia in trying to kickstart international travel, even though Europe was affected later and has suffered more infections and deaths.
"In Asia Pacific governments are reluctant to open up rules to allow travelers. Asia Pacific was the first to confront the virus. So logically speaking, Asia Pacific should be the one to first recover," Menon said.
"Instead it is Europe that is doing it."
Talk about travel bubbles and travel corridors have been ongoing for weeks across Asia but there has been very little action so far.
"We’ve been getting our travel bubbles for about almost two months now, but the only travel bubbles that have taken off are in the European Union."
Menon says mandatory quarantines and other restrictions should be lifted when countries do reopen borders.
"The recovery will be followed by regional travel, and finally by intercontinental travel, which will take the longest time, he added.
