The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged states to follow new guidance on travel from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The guidance recommends a ‘risk-based approach’ to implementing measures related to Covid-19 and international travel.
It will be presented to the WHO Covid-19 International Health Regulations Emergency Committee today, 15 July.
Specifically, WHO recommended that government do not require proof of Covid-19 vaccination as a mandatory condition for entry or exit and they should remove testing and/or quarantine requirements for travelers who are fully vaccinated or have contracted Covid-19 within the past six months
There should remain pathways for unvaccinated travelers to cross borders through testing.
The WHO recommends rRT-PCR tests or antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for this purpose.
Where quarantine measures are imposed for international travelers, it should be ‘in a risk-based manner’ with policies on testing and quarantine regularly reviewed.
"These common sense, risk-based recommendations from WHO, if followed by states, will allow for international air travel to resume while minimizing the chance of importing Covid-19," said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
"As WHO notes—and as the latest UK testing data proves—international travelers are not a high-risk group in terms of Covid-19. "
WHO called on governments to communicate ‘in a timely and adequate manner’ any changes to international health-related requirements.
"Consumers face a maze of confusing, uncoordinated and fast-changing border entry rules that discourage them from traveling," Walsh said.
