The Airports Council International of Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC), the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA ) call for the removal of all travel-related COVID restrictions that still apply in Latin American and Caribbean countries, including testing requirements, the need to present a certificate, and even in some cases, the homologation of the scheme completed vaccinations, fill out a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) and proof of COVID insurance. This includes the abandonment of the use of the mask on trips within countries or between countries where it is no longer required indoors.
COVID-19, and specifically the Omicron variant, is now widespread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and the population’s immunity is at such levels that the risk of hospitalization or death has been drastically reduced, especially for vaccinated people . States are adopting surveillance strategies to ensure public health, just as they do with other coronaviruses and infectious diseases.
Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have lifted internal COVID restrictions, such as the need to present health credentials to enter social events, or the requirement to wear masks in public spaces. Contact tracing measures are also being abolished, making PLFs unnecessary for international travel. As these countries open up and remove restrictions, it stands to reason that they will no longer apply to air travel as well.
Countries without COVID testing requirements have been shown to be the ones where aviation recovers the fastest.
Air transport is essential for the social and economic development of the countries of the region and we can only expect a full recovery of this industry and all those that depend on it, if the restrictions and requirements related to COVID are eliminated.