Alexandre de Juniac, General Director and CEO of the International Air Transport Association made statements at a press conference alarming about the financial state of companies that puts connectivity at risk
Alexandre de Juniac held a press conference to update data on the state of the aviation industry. The official stated: “The financial outlook for airlines is getting worse as governments tighten travel restrictions. Burning from $ 75 billion to $ 95 billion this year is not something the industry can bear without additional relief from governments. And the expectation that the industry won’t turn cash positive until 2022 is another reminder of the severity of the crisis. “
“Dawn is being heralded by good news about vaccine distribution and growing testing capacity.”
“Whether the vaccination deadlines lead to an early or late reopening, the work ahead is the same, we need to plan for recovery, it is vital to have a way to digitally manage health credentials and they must also have standards. global safeguards to record test and vaccine results. “
“In planning, the UK has set a good example by presenting its restart plans. After almost a year of crisis, airlines will need time to restart. And we can do it in the most efficient way if we understand how governments view the way to go. Other governments should look carefully at what the UK has done. “
“Regarding health credentials, these last few weeks have seen more airlines sign up to try the IATA Travel Pass. That will help us get ready for the restart. Manual processes will not be able to cope with the volume of travelers when the recovery begins. But we cannot have just any digital solution. The system must be secure, work with existing systems, align with global standards and respect data privacy. “
“These fundamentals are at the core of the IATA Travel Pass. It sets a very high bar for health credential management, protects against fraud, and enables a convenient travel process.”
“While there are options in the solutions market, there should be no compromise to fundamentals, or we risk systems failure, disappointed governments and travelers, and a delayed restart.”
“Lastly, we need global standards for recording vaccines and test results. Speed is critical. Fraudulent COVID-19 test results are already proving to be a problem. And as vaccination programs increase, governments use paper processes and different digital standards to record who has been vaccinated. These are not the necessary conditions to support a successful restart at scale when governments open borders. “
“WHO, ICAO and OECD are working on standards, but every day without them means that the challenge is increasing. This challenge includes finding a way to register those who have been vaccinated before the standards are set.” .
“The bottom line is that we need planning and cooperation between industry and governments, backed by global standards. The COVID-19 crisis has caused many difficulties. When governments can reopen their borders, we must be prepared. That means having the processes, the tools and standards to support a rapid increase in activity”.