Tag Archives: IATA

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.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to adopt simple, predictable and practical measures to safely and efficiently facilitate the ramping-up of international travel as borders re-open. Specifically, IATA urged governments to focus on three key areas, simplified health protocol, digital solutions to process health credentials, and COVID-19 measures proportionate to risk levels with a continuous review process.

A recent survey by International Air Transport Association (IATA), air travellers are increasingly frustrated with the COVID-19 travel restrictions. The survey within 11 markets in September showed confidence that the risks of COVID-19 can be effectively managed and that the freedom to travel should be restored. 67% of respondents felt that most country borders should be opened now, up 12 percentage-points from the June 2021 survey.

SpiceJet on  Thursday said it will begin trial of IATA (International Air Transport Association) Travel Pass mobile app for digital health verification. The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021, as a step towards building passenger confidence as international travel picks up. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet is proud to collaborate with IATA to trial IATA’s Travel Pass initiative. Passenger safety and comfort has always been our top priority and the introduction of the Travel Pass will make the verification process absolutely simple and hassle-free, boost both passenger and government confidence and make international travel more efficient and secure.” “I am happy that IATA has confirmed SpiceHealth labs for the Travel Pass trial enabling it to securely share certified test and vaccination certificates with passengers that will be recognized by governments abroad.” “Adding SpiceJet to the growing list of airlines trialling IATA Travel Pass is another step towards demonstrating to governments how digital solutions can effectively manage both COVID-19 vaccine and test certificates for travel. IATA Travel Pass will simplify and enhance compliance with health requirements for SpiceJet’s passengers, facilitating a more seamless experience,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety,and Security. The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile application that helps travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccinations. The Travel Pass will manage and verify the traveller’s COVID-19 status in line with governments’ health and border requirements. In another significant development, SpiceHealth has been on-boarded by IATA as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial. SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet. SpiceHealth has …

With industry-wide air travel demand (in RPKs) having dropped by 65.9% year-on-year, Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, says, “2020 was a year that we’d all like to forget. But analysing the performance statistics for the year reveals an amazing story of perseverance. It was the rapid action by airlines and the commitment of our people that saw the airline industry through the most difficult year in its history.”

Indian carrier IndiGo has partnered with IATA to launch a pilot project for the IATA Travel Pass. The Pass (a mobile App) will enable travellers to create a digital passport where they can share their test and vaccination certificates, to meet the SOPs of the destination they are travelling to. The pilot project will begin in the country from August 20. The IATA Travel Pass will also enable authorised labs and test centres to securely send test results or vaccination certificates to passengers.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced passenger demand performance for June 2021, which shows total demand for air travel in June 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 60.1% compared to June 2019. The pandemic resurgence weighed also on passenger recovery in India and Japan – with both markets reporting RPKs only at ~30% of the pre-crisis levels.

Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Deputy Director General and Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific, believes that vaccination and testing have a role to play in the recovery of international travel, and it is not sustainable to maintain a ‘zero caseload’ approach. He says, “It is not an option to wait for vaccines to be widely available before reopening borders. The global vaccine roll-out is likely to take time.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that based on its latest passenger survey, most air travellers are confident about the safety of air travel and support mask-wearing in the near-term. In fact, 65% air travellers agree that the air on an aircraft is as clean as that in an operating room (OR).

In its latest survey that talks about travel trends, IATA reveals that 85% respondents say they will not travel if there is a chance of quarantine at the destination. The survey also reveals that travellers, though keen, are still willing to wait at least a month or two before resuming travel.