IATA has praised the US decision to require pre-departure COVID testing for arrivals in the country; a week earlier, the organization blasted Canada for doing the same. The difference: rapid testing.

“IATA is encouraged by the flexibility shown by CDC in this order, in terms of accepting both antigen and PCR testing and in providing passengers who have already had COVID-19 the ability to demonstrate they are immune,” said IATA of the recently announced US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate that all travellers to the US must show proof of a negative when arriving in the US, effective Jan. 26.

“Systematic pre-departure testing is key to giving governments confidence to reopen markets without quarantine,” said Douglas Lavin, IATA’s Vice President Member and External Relations, North America. “Testing will ensure that at current infection levels, aviation will not become a meaningful vector of new transmissions in the US. Furthermore, IATA traveller surveys show that passengers strongly support and are willing to undergo testing.”

But the key to IATA’s (non-binding) approval is the recognition of antigen testing, which is much easier, quicker, and cheaper to administer, and thus less of an obstacle to travellers.

In Canada’s case, IATA said “no explanation has been provided as to why a PCR test is the only acceptable test, given that this is not readily available in many countries.”

Montreal-based IATA, and other global tourism organizations like the World Travel & Tourism Council, have long called for the recognition of antigen rapid testing as an acceptable measure for testing.

Late last week, WTTC president and CEO Gloria Guevara praised similar measures introduced in Britain as “a major step which opens the doors to travellers arriving into England with proof of a negative COVID-19 test, no matter what the type of test they take.

“Giving equal validity to every COVID-19 test takes away the concern travellers may have that their test may not be accepted and thus face the prospect of being forced into an unnecessary quarantine. It also means tests of every type will be more affordable and accessible for travellers,” she said, adding, “This action compliments similar action taken in the US – and many other countries around the world – which have introduced an ‘open door’ policy to get safe travel moving with acceptable pre-boarding COVID-19 negative tests, such as PCR and rapid antigen tests.”

Critics, it should be noted, claim that antigen tests are not as reliable as PCR tests and therefore still present a health risk.

Beyond means of testing, IATA president Alexandre de Juniac also blasted Canada for providing only a week’s warning before the testing requirement came into effect – a decision he called “both callous and impractical to impose on travellers at such short notice.” The US has allowed two full weeks for travellers and the industry to react.

Equally important to IATA is the need to quash quarantines, especially when testing is in effect. De Juniac called Canada’s decision to both pre-test (with only PCR tests accepted) and quarantine for 14 days “the worst of both worlds.”

While rules vary from state to state in the US, the CDC merely “recommends” that travellers “get tested again 3-5 days after arrival and stay home for 7 days post-travel,” with CDC Director Robert R. Redfield stating that “testing does not eliminate all risk, but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.”

In his comments directed at Canada, de Juniac further claimed that it is “completely unrealistic to mandate that airlines check passengers’ compliance with the new rule, as it cannot be the airline’s role to determine if a passenger tried their utmost to get tested or not.”

However, IATA seemed more diplomatic when it comes to the US.

“While this order presents operational challenges, we will continue to work with CDC to achieve a smooth implementation,” said Lavin, though he added, “As the efficacy of testing is confirmed, we need to move quickly to next steps – lifting travel restrictions which prevent travel from Europe and other key markets and removing quarantine requirements imposed by state and local governments in the US.”

But in the meantime, the new US measures, which recognize rapid testing are “definitely is a big step in the right direction,” he said.

The International Air Transport Association represents some 290 airlines comprising 82% of global air traffic.