The representative body of the global airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), and the world’s two biggest commercial aircraft manufacturing companies, Airbus and Boeing, have jointly issued a press release calling on governments to make their Covid-19 border opening risk-management decisions on the basis of data. Modelling by Boeing and Airbus, in cooperation with Iata, has shown that borders can be opened without requiring international travellers to quarantine while keeping the risk of transmitting the disease low. “Data can and should drive policies on restarting global travel that manage Covid-19 risks to protect populations, revive livelihoods and boost economies,” argued Iata director-general Wille Walsh. “We call on the [Group of Seven] governments meeting later this month to agree on the use of data to safely plan and coordinate the return of the freedom to travel which is so important to people, livelihoods and businesses.”
