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Amsterdam / Frankfurt (dpa) - The international airline association IATA has again appealed to national governments to facilitate air traffic with more corona rapid tests.
Despite all the positive news of scientific advances, one cannot wait until a vaccine is available, said IATA boss Alexandre de Juniac on Monday immediately before the start of the annual meeting in Amsterdam.
The current quarantine regulations would amount to de facto travel bans for many passengers.
The restart of international air traffic must start immediately for economic reasons.
The industry and its service providers have made great efforts to make the travel process safer, said IATA experts.
Staying in an airplane is much safer than in a classroom or in an office.
Comprehensive corona tests immediately before the flight could provide additional security.
The current quarantine regulations for travelers, however, are partly inconclusive and inefficient because of the difficult controls.
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The IATA advocates the use of cost-effective and quick-to-evaluate antigen tests, which could also provide up to 99 percent accurate results, instead of precise but time-consuming PCR tests.
An expert explained that the cost of a test is currently 5 to 10 dollars with a rapidly growing offer.
The mass tests could also help identify symptom-free corona infected people.
IATA is working with British Airways parent IAG on a digital health passport that will be available for smartphones in the first half of 2021 so that passengers can easily prove their negative test result or a vaccination against the coronavirus.
As a first step, a corresponding app is intended to provide customers with the test and vaccination requirements for their trip as well as suitable test centers and laboratories at their departure point.
These should then send their test results or vaccination certificates to the travelers via the app.
According to the information, the customer can use it to create a digital passport that contains the necessary evidence for airlines and authorities.
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Air traffic has been suffering from travel restrictions as a result of the pandemic for months.
The organization wants to publish a new outlook on the economic consequences on Tuesday.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201123-99-436488 / 2