The airline industry’s global lobby group has condemned national moves to introduce Covid-19 tests and other measures for passengers arriving from China as travel from the country resumes despite a flareup in the virus.
The measures represent a “knee-jerk” reinstatement of steps that have proven ineffective in stemming the pandemic over the past three years, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement Wednesday.
IATA director-general Willie Walsh said travel restrictions have been shown to delay the peak of new waves of coronavirus by only a few days, rather than halting them, while at the same time strangling off international connectivity, damaging economies and destroying jobs.
“Governments must base their decisions on science facts rather than science politics,” Walsh said.
The European Union is moving toward an approach to the rampant outbreak in China that may include masks and pre-flight testing requirements on flights from the country. A draft opinion drawn up on Tuesday includes masking recommendations and increased wastewater monitoring and suggests discussing Covid testing, with strong majority of countries back pre-departure tests.
China has called the new wave of measures “unacceptable” and said it might consider “countermeasures” against countries that apply them.
While the unexpectedly rapid reopening of China even as the Omicron variant of Covid continues to rage there could herald a stronger-than-forecast revival of Asian and long-haul flying, border curbs including tests on arrival have been shown to be a major drag on bookings.
IATA, which represents carriers that account for 83% of global air traffic, hadn’t anticipated Beijing relaxing its closed-door policy until the second half of 2023, and on that basis predicted that only North American airlines would register significant profits this year, with peers in other regions losing money or eking out only small gains.
In a related development, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his country would further tighten quarantine measures for travellers from China.
Starting from Sunday, visitors from China will need to have tested negative before leaving for Japan and will have to undergo a PCR test on arrival, the premier said.
According to the government, individuals entering Japan directly from China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, will be required to submit a certificate showing a negative result of a test taken within 72 hours prior to departure for the country.
Japan will also continue to request that airlines do not increase the number of direct flights from mainland China, Kishida said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning criticised Japan’s move, saying antivirus steps should be “science-based and proportionate” and should not affect normal personnel exchanges and cooperation.
Malaysia, meanwhile, will tighten screening rules for all foreign arrivals, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday.
“We are going to tighten screening but we won’t discriminate against any country,” Anwar said at a briefing following a cabinet meeting. The government will prioritise people’s health over the economy, he said.
Last week, Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa said the country would test wastewater samples from all flights arriving from China for Covid-19.
Pre-pandemic, China was the third largest country in terms of tourist arrivals in Malaysia. About 3.1 million Chinese tourists visited Malaysia in 2019, from the overall 26.1 million arrivals, according to data from Tourism Malaysia.
