Travel bubbles a ‘big step in right direction’: AAPA chief

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) sees the establishment of travel bubble arrangements – such as the recently announced example between Singapore and Hong Kong – as a “big step in the right direction” to restarting cross-border travel amid the coronavirus outbreak. AAPA chief Subhas Menon says that the Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble arrangement, which sees quarantine measures eased in place of testing, will “be a spark” for other countries to follow suit. “I think it will also be a spark…for other countries in the region to consider, you know, because this is an example of how risk assessment has been applied to restart travel,” Menon says. “What we want to see is more countries adopting a similar risk assessment [and] risk management approach, [an] ‘equal risk equal response’ strategy to start travel bubbles… at least it shows a way to move forward,” he adds. Still, Menon urged more governments to “move beyond” merely having essential travel arrangements, such as green lanes for business travel. While he believes that “we shouldn’t compartmentalise any portion of the travel market”, Menon says that indications of strong domestic travel rebound in various Asia-Pacific markets show that “the penchant for travel is no less among leisure travellers than it is among business travellers”.<br/>