Governments must pay for virus health measures, say IATA and ACI

IATA and Airports Council International have jointly called for governments to pay for public health measures relating to the spread of communicable diseases. Citing “multi-billion losses in revenue and traffic” experienced by airlines and airport operators as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the two bodies suggest government funding of the measures would allow the commercial aviation industry to focus “scarce resources” on reintroducing connectivity and “boosting economic recovery”. Indeed, they claim that the WHO’s International Health Regulations “require governments to pay the costs of health measures”. “As the industry navigates the complexities of restarting operations, ACI believes the cost of any health measures that are required should be borne by governments,” states ACI World DG Luis Felipe de Oliveira. “ACI and IATA are aligned on this issue… public funding of health measures should be ensured, including but not limited to infrastructure or operational changes needed for their implementation.” IATA and ACI note their backing for ICAO’s TakeOff guidance, which was adopted by the UN body in early June in response to the coronavirus outbreak. <br/>