In a joint message, AFCAC AFRAA, ACI Africa, CANSO, IATA and UNWTO have urged decision-makers to consider the following steps for a durable restart and recovery of the air travel industry in Africa.
The bodies state that Africa is “running a race against time” in the battle against the pandemic crisis and calls for a co-ordinated approach by African States for sustainable recovery of the air travel industry.
The message calls for constant and sustained dialogue among African governments, civil aviation authorities, tourism and travel industry players, air transport associations and other key stakeholders, to implement harmonized and internationally adopted health and travel protocols to bring back the necessary confidence for a safe, simple and seamless air travel in the new normal.
African States are also encouraged to make available universal, accessible and affordable COVID-19 testing facilities to all air travellers, i.e. PCR or Rapid antigen tests.
Like other jurisdictions, they call for the reduction of the high cost of testing fees noting that the PCR test costs are very high in some African States. They also call for the vaccine roll-out campaign in Africa to be expedited equitably.
African States are also encouraged to consider steps towards lifting prohibitive travel restrictions in the form of quarantine measures for fully vaccinated and negatively tested travellers. In the short term, quarantines may be applicable only to passengers coming from those determined areas with a very high incidence of the virus, to be regularly reviewed in co-ordination with national and international health authorities.
African States are further encouraged to adopt any form of globally interoperable digital health pass or certificate, approved by the World Health Organization, that will seamlessly integrate into testing and travel processes of the different stakeholders of the air travel industry.