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Air passengers should not automatically be considered high risk of spreading Covid-19 and should be treated as members of the local population who have not had any direct contact with an infected person, according to the new European guidelines for air travel.
However, the Guidelines for Covid-19 Testing and Air Traveler Quarantine, published jointly by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), they have been described as “really dangerous”. and “crazy” by a leading public health expert in Ireland.
The guidelines, requested by the European Commission and published Wednesday afternoon, say that travelers “should not be considered a high-risk population, nor treated as Covid-19 case contacts, unless they have been in contact. known with a confirmed positive case. “
Instead, travelers “should be treated in the same way as local residents and be subject to the same regulations or recommendations that apply to the local population.”
Family meetings
Based on the most recent information and scientific evidence, the conclusions of the document reflect the fact that the prevalence of the new coronavirus among travelers is estimated to be lower than in the case of the general population. Furthermore, the measures implemented in aviation minimize the possibility of transmission during air travel.
The guidelines suggest that a 14-day quarantine is effective only in the “exceptional situation” in which a country has achieved full control of the virus and reduced transmission levels to almost zero, and only then for travelers entering from countries where the virus continues to circulate.
“This new document is a true European contribution for the benefit of European citizens,” said Patrick Ky, Executive Director of EASA.
He added that his findings would be “important in making many family reunions possible over Christmas. It builds on the measures we already implement with the Aviation Health Security Protocol and reinforces the view that there is no inherent risk in air travel; in fact, air travelers are considered a relatively “safe for Covid” population.
He called on “national decision makers to take into account the recommendations given here when formulating their policies.”
‘Really dangerous’
Community health professor at DCU Anthony Staines said the findings “defy logic” and were “really very dangerous.”
He said it looked as if “Europe was getting under the bus and this is a risk” and suggested that the guidelines had been introduced before Christmas “for people to travel again before the holidays and that’s crazy.”
He noted that the Australian city of Melbourne, which had largely contained the virus several months ago, had a wave of infections as a result of a passenger arriving in the city and not following quarantine rules.
He said that if people were flying from countries with a high incidence of Covid-19 to countries with a low risk, it made more sense to reflect that and treat passengers from the high-risk location differently than those from the low-risk one. risk. .
Quarantines
However, the guidelines have prompted a call from European and international aviation associations for European governments to “immediately remove quarantine measures and other travel restrictions.”
“These guidelines unequivocally show that quarantines are essentially policy-driven, not risk-based, measures that are unrelated to what is actually needed to safeguard public health,” said Olivier Jankovec, CEO of ACI Europe, a group representing the leading European airlines and airports.
“As such, quarantines do not pass the proportionality test, a key principle of EU law, especially since there are no equivalent measures at land borders,” he continued.
“This has resulted in unprecedented limitations on freedom of movement and the freedom to provide services. We call on national governments to immediately repeal their quarantine restrictions and restore freedom of movement for European citizens ”,
He said that a more harmonized and coordinated approach between the EU, EEA and UK states is essential to increase clarity and predictability for citizens and businesses following the latest EU Council recommendation. This is essential for the recovery of the sector ”.
Apart from the data presented by the guidelines, several other analyzes confirm the absence of a correlation between passenger traffic and prevalence rates at the national level.
He said internal information produced by ACI Europe from airport passenger data in the third quarter of 2020 “unequivocally rejects any relationship between air travel and increased transmission rates of Covid-19.”
He said the brief increase in air passenger traffic during this period “proved not to have a statistically significant relationship with the Covid-19 test positivity rate, based on aviation, public health and community mobility data.”
“Rapid tests, using the latest available technologies and meeting the high sensitivity and sensitivity criteria established by the ECDC, can help restore predictability, rekindle passenger confidence, and therefore restore flight connectivity for European passengers, “said Thomas Reynaert, managing director of Airlines for Europe.
Rafael Schvartzman, regional vice president for Europe for the International Air Travel Association, echoed his calls, saying that “rapid passenger tests for Covid-19” open the door to restart air travel by removing the quarantine. “
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