ETRC calls for coordinated approach to restart travel
The ETRC has announced that it has put out a call to European governments requesting a coordinated approach to travel, in order to help resume safe travel and tourism both within Europe and beyond.
ACI Europe has released data that confirms the crisis in air travel has not achieved any improvements and has instead actually worsened. Passenger traffic in Q1 was 81.7% lower than Q1 in 2019 across the European airport network, a further decrease from Q4 2020 of -79.2%.
The ETRC says it welcomes the European Commission proposal for a Digital Green Certificate to prove that a person has either been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19, and urges an immediate adoption of the certificate to facilitate the resumption of international travel.
Additionally, in view of the vaccine rollout, the ETRC calls upon Member States to restore freedom of movement within the EU by removing national restrictions on non-essential travel in Europe, implementing an affordable and rapid testing system for travel and ending blanket quarantines.
ETRC President Nigel Keal said: “Despite protocols in place to allow for safe travel, many European countries have taken a very restrictive approach when it comes to non-essential travel. We hope that the Digital Green Certificate will be part of a broader strategy for a coordinated restart of travel in Europe to provide much-needed certainty for our industry and our travelers ahead of the summer period.”
