IATA welcomes US pre-departure testing order

MUMBAI: Global airlines’ trade body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Friday welcomed the US decision that requires passengers to produce a Covid-19 negative report on arrival. The said norm will come into force on January 26. Passengers need to undergo the test within three days of departure to the US.
IATA rooted for systematic pre-departure testing as a measure to boost government confidence to reopen markets without quarantine.
“Testing will ensure that at current infection levels, aviation will not become a meaningful vector of new transmissions in the US. Furthermore, IATA traveler surveys show that passengers strongly support and are willing to undergo testing,” said Douglas Lavin, IATA’s vice president Member and External Relations, North America.
“IATA is encouraged by the flexibility shown by United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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 the trade body in a press release.
“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,” said Lavin.