WTTC Praises European Airport Testing Programs

Image: PHOTO: Airplane parked at Paris International Airport. (photo via Getty Images) (stellalevi/iStock/Getty Images)

by Janeen Christoff
Last updated: 5:12 PM ET, Tue October 20, 2020

European airports are rolling out rapid COVID-19 testing for passengers, a good start to reopening travel in the region.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is praising these efforts.

"It is very encouraging to see the door beginning to open to allow airport testing on departure," said Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO. "We have been calling for a rapid and cost-effective testing on departure regime at airports around the world for several months now, so this is a step in the right direction."

WTTC's research shows that testing at the airport will have a positive effect on the revival of international air travel and could bring back jobs and the global economy.

The organization has found that almost 20 million jobs across Europe could be saved, including 3 million in Germany, 1.93 million in the UK, 1.91 million in Italy and more than 1.5 million in France.

"That is why we support the introduction of schemes at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris, Heathrow in London and the recent trial which took place between Rome's Fiumicino Airport and Milan Linate," said Guevara. "We hope this will inspire other countries to follow their lead and implement similar initiatives."

Guevara also noted that, while airport COVID-19 testing is a great step, a standardized, global approach is encouraged.

"To save the global travel and tourism sector, we need a standardized international testing protocol," she said. "Full cooperation and coordination are crucial to restore seamless travel and remove ineffective and costly quarantines.

"Removing or significantly reducing quarantine times, already introduced by some countries, could restore vital international business travel, first on short-haul flights and then between important financial hubs, such as Frankfurt, London and New York and other key trans-Atlantic services."

Guevara encouraged the industry to continue to consider all options.

"With the commercial aviation sector hanging in the balance, it is more important than ever that we explore every practical avenue to speed up airport testing through targeted pilots."

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