Increasing momentum towards reopening of borders and relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions has been welcomed by Iata.
The airline industry body’s response came ahead of Friday’s abolition of all UK travel curbs in response to the pandemic, including the scrapping of Passenger Locator Forms.
However, travel in Asia remains heavily compromised by Covid restrictions, according to Iata.
While North American and European international traffic rebounded to -42% of their pre-pandemic 2019 peaks last year, traffic in Asia Pacific remained at -88%.
“Even in this region, however, there has been some progress, with India and Malaysia among the countries recently announcing relaxation of restrictions,” Iata said.
A study by the association of travel restrictions for the world’s top 50 air travel markets revealed the growing access available to vaccinated travellers:
- 25 markets representing 38% of 2019 international demand are open to vaccinated travellers without quarantine measures or testing requirements – up from 18 markets (28% of 2019 international demand) in mid-February.
- 38 markets representing 65% of 2019 international demand are open to vaccinated travellers with no quarantine requirements – up from 28 markets (50% of 2019 international demand) in mid-February.
Repeated surveys of passengers by Iata during the pandemic has shown that testing and especially quarantine are major barriers to travel.
Iata director general Willie Walsh said: “The world is largely open for travel. As population immunity grows, more governments are managing Covid-19 through surveillance, as they do for other endemic viruses.
“That is great news for a growing number of destinations that will receive a much-needed economic boost from the upcoming Easter and northern summer travel seasons.
“Asia is the outlier. Hopefully recent relaxations including Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the Philippines are paving the way towards restoring the freedom to travel that is more broadly enjoyed in other parts of the world.”