The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has
released a report of health and safety recommendations for governments and the
aviation industry to adopt for the safe resumption of air passenger services
during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Takeoff: Guidance for air travel through the Covid-19 public
health crisis outlines a framework of risk-based temporary measures that have
been developed in line with guidance from public health authorities including
the World Health Organisation and industry bodies such as the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International (ACI World),
according to the ICAO. They have been designed to mitigate the risk of
transmission of the coronavirus during travel.
ICAO Council president Salvatore Sciacchitano commented: “The
world looked to the ICAO Council to provide the high-level guidance which
governments and industry needed to begin restarting international air transport
and recovering from Covid-19. We have answered this call today with the
delivery of this report…”
The recommendations of the report include:
- Physical distancing wherever feasible, as well
as the implementation of additional measures where this is not possible, such
as in aircraft cabins;
- Requiring passengers and crew to wear facemasks
or coverings throughout the travel process – this will be especially important
on board planes where physical distancing might not be possible;
- Routine sanitation and disinfection of all areas
with potential for human contact, both in airports and on aircraft;
- Health screening, including pre and post-flight
self-declarations, temperature screening and visual observation undertaken by
health professionals;
- Contact tracing of passengers and aviation
staff, with updated contact information required on self-declaration forms for
government officials to perform tracing responsibilities;
- Passenger health declaration forms including
self-declarations in line with the recommendations of health authorities.
Electronic forms should be encouraged to avoid the use of paper;
- And testing, if and when reliable, rapid on-site
testing becomes available.
Philippe Bertoux, chairperson ambassador of the Council’s
Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) and representative for France to the ICAO
Council, said the measures would need to be understood as a “type of ‘living guidance’
which will be continuously updated based on latest risk assessments as we
monitor progress and reconnect the world”.
The guidelines are similar to those put forward by the
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) last month and have been welcomed
by IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac, who said: “This layering
of measures should give travellers and crew the confidence they need to fly
again. And we are committed to working with our partners to continuously
improve these measures as medical science, technology and the pandemic evolve.”
The ICAO’s report comes as countries such as Greece and
Spain are preparing to lift quarantine measures for international arrivals in
time for the peak summer holiday season. The UK, on the other hand, will implement
its first self-isolation requirements of the pandemic on 8 June, though there
have been reports from the BBC that government ministers are considering
backing down on some of the measures to find ways for people to travel between
countries with low infection rates through so-called ‘air bridges’. They are
also reportedly considering adding more professions to the list of workers exempt
from the restrictions.