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Groups representing Ireland and the EU aviation and tourism want European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to end the travel chaos on the bloc by introducing new Covid testing protocols.
Organizations supported by Ryanair, the Irish Airline Pilots Association, the Aer Lingus International Airlines Group, DAA and regional airlines such as Dublin-based ASL Aviation Holdings have written to Ms Von der Leyen welcoming the framework of Covid-19 travel restrictions proposed by the commission. .
However, your letter notes that many Member States may be reluctant to take coordinated action, which could end any chance of recovery from the impact of the pandemic on their industry.
“This chaotic situation requires your immediate personal involvement, as president of the European Commission,” the letter says. “We therefore urge you to make this issue a top priority and ask you to address this issue directly with the heads of state and government.”
The industry urges Ms Von der Leyen to ensure that the commission implements an EU test protocol to avoid quarantines and reopen borders.
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton appeared to back the call when he said on French radio on Tuesday that the EU should avoid closing borders in a “second wave” of the pandemic.
Green list
The 25 organizations include the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilot unions; Airlines for Europe, which supports the largest airlines in the block; International Council of Airports of Europe; and Association of Airlines of the European Regions (ERA).
Signatories include Andrew Kelly, Dublin-based head of communications for ASL, who is president of ERA.
His call comes a day after the government tightened restrictions in the Republic that require travelers from countries that are not on a “green list” of states to isolate themselves for 14 days after arrival.
The government imposed a new green list from Monday, September 21, limited to just seven countries, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
The letter from the organizations notes that tourism and travel employ 27 million people across the EU and generate around 10 percent of the bloc’s wealth.
“Extreme travel restrictions, particularly quarantines, are not based on risk,” the letter says.
Industry and medical
“They are not an effective way to fight the epidemic, and the European Center for Disease Control formally warns states against such restrictions.”
The organizations want the commission to bring together member states, industry and clinicians to develop a testing protocol.
“This would align the travel and tourism sectors with what is being done for all other sectors in terms of risk management, for which states are not following a zero risk strategy,” argues the industry.
ERA CEO Montserrat Barriga followed up the letter with a warning that airlines were laying off thousands of people, who had little chance of being rehired.
“We saw the beginning of a recovery for a few weeks, but in August the border closures and quarantine put an end to that recovery,” he said.
“European traffic is still down 45 percent now in 2019 and that’s just unsustainable.”
Barriga stressed that hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost if the EU did not tell member states that borders should be opened and quarantine provisions removed.
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