The International Air Transport Association has urged governments to accelerate relaxation of travel restrictions as COVID-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage. According to IATA, that includes removing all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine.

The airline association also says that global governments should remove travel bans, enable quarantine-free travel for non-vaccinated travellers with a negative pre-departure antigen test result, and accelerate the easing of travel restrictions in recognition that travellers “pose no greater risk for COVID-19 spread than already exists in the general population.”

IATA’s declaration Tuesday echoed similar calls from the United Nations through its sister agencies, the World Health Organization and World Tourism Organization.

“With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence and opinion opposing the targeting of travellers with restrictions and country bans to control the spread of COVID-19,” says IATA Director General Willie Walsh.

“The measures have not worked. Today Omicron is present in all parts of the world. That’s why travel, with very few exceptions, does not increase the risk to general populations. The billions spent testing travellers would be far more effective if allocated to vaccine distribution or strengthening health care systems.”

Using the United Kingdom as a model, IATA cites a recently published study by Oxera and Edge Health demonstrating the “extremely limited impact” of travel restrictions on controlling the spread of Omicron. The study found that:

• If the UK’s extra measures with respect to Omicron had been in place from the beginning of November (prior to the identification of the variant), the peak of the Omicron wave would have been delayed by just five days with 3% fewer cases.

• The absence of any testing measures for travellers would have seen the Omicron wave peak seven days earlier with an overall 8% increase in cases.

• Now that Omicron is highly prevalent in the UK, if all travel testing requirements were removed there would be no impact on Omicron case numbers or hospitalizations in the UK.

“While the study is specific to the UK, it is clear that travel restrictions in any part of the world have had little impact on the spread of COVID-19, including the Omicron variant,” says Walsh. “The UK, France and Switzerland have recognized this and are among the first to begin removing travel measures. More governments need to follow their lead. Accelerating the removal of travel restrictions will be a major step towards living with the virus.”

With respect to travel bans, IATA points to the WHO Emergency Committee’s recommendation last week to “lift or ease international traffic bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress experienced by States. The failure of travel restrictions introduced after the detection and reporting of Omicron variant to limit international spread of Omicron demonstrates the ineffectiveness of such measures over time.”

IATA also points to a growing belief by many public health experts that COVID-19 is becoming an endemic condition – and one that “humankind now has the tools (including vaccination and therapeutics) to live and travel with, bolstered by growing population immunity.”

As such it is important, says IATA, that governments and the travel industry are well-prepared for the transition and ready to remove the burden of measures that disrupt travel.

“The current situation of travel restrictions is a mess,” states Walsh. “There is one problem – COVID-19. But there seem to be more unique solutions to managing travel and COVID-19 than there are countries to travel to.”

IATA cites research from the Migration Policy Institute, which found more than 100,000 travel measures around the world – measures Walsh says “create complexity for passengers, airlines and governments to manage.”

To that end, Walsh says a simplified and coordinated path to normal travel (when COVID-19 is endemic) is required.

Among the top priorities is mutually recognized policies on vaccinations, which IATA says are incentivized by barrier-free travel. However, problems persist:

• Accepted vaccines: There is no universal recognition for all vaccines on the WHO Emergency Use list. This raises a barrier to travel as people have little choice on the range of vaccines available in their country.

• Validity: There is no alignment on the length of vaccine validity. This will become a barrier to travel as eligibility for boosters is controlled by national policies. Unduly short validity periods that effectively require air passengers to get regular booster jabs to travel internationally will consume resources that could support primary vaccination in the developing world and booster doses for the most vulnerable.

• Distribution priorities: The calls of WHO and health experts for vaccine equity are not universally prioritized. Only half the states in Africa have been able to vaccinate more than 10% of their populations while many developed countries are reducing vaccination validity and considering second rounds of boosters. This creates a barrier to travel and strains testing resources in parts of the world where vaccine distribution is less advanced.

IATA believes that industry and governments must co-operate to create a blueprint for reconnecting the world following key principles of simplicity, predictability and practicality.

Says Walsh, “We have seen that targeting disproportionate measures at travellers has economic and social costs but very limited public health benefits. We must aim at a future where international travel faces no greater restriction than visiting a shop, attending a public gathering, or riding the bus.”

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili agreed, stating, “When it comes to stopping the spread of new virus variants, blanket travel restrictions are simply counterproductive. In fact, by cutting the lifeline of tourism, these restrictions do more harm than good, especially in destinations reliant on international tourists for jobs, economic wellbeing, and sustainable change.

“It is imperative we restart tourism and so kickstart recovery and get back on track towards meeting the SDGs (sustainable development goals) while responding to climate imperatives,” he added.