Source: ICAO ICAO is encouraging the establishment of special COVID-19-free Public Health Corridors (PHCs) to address the “extensive and varied” country-to-country border restrictions now in place due to national pandemic measures.   In an attachment and appendix to its latest bulletin, issued under the authority of ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu, the UN aviation agency underscored to national governments that current disruptions to international air movements have “severely disrupted the global aviation network, including the transport of essential items such as medical supplies and food.”   To keep supply lines open, and access to needed supplies better assured, the ICAO Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA) has recommended that PHCs [...]

Source: US FAA   U.S. airlines carried 51% fewer scheduled service passengers in March 2020 than in March 2019, according to preliminary data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 24 airlines that carry 99% of the passengers, dropping to the lowest level of air travel in more than two decades.   The 51% decline in the number of passengers from March 2019 was the largest year-to-year decrease on record.   The airlines carried slightly more total, domestic and international passengers in March 2020 than in September 2001, the month of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.   March 2020 passenger numbers (24 carriers reporting): Total: 7 million passengers, down 51% from March 2019 (79.9M) Domestic: 34.1 million passengers, down [...]

Source: ACI NA Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA), the trade association representing commercial service airports in the United States and Canada, today announced that it is urging the U.S. government to adopt guidelines for the use of facial coverings by all individuals in the public areas of passenger airport terminals. ACI-NA is taking this position due to the extraordinary nature of the current COVID-19 pandemic, and in order to provide for the health and safety of passengers and airport employees, to instill confidence in those who work or travel through America’s airports.  Absent federal guidelines, ACI-NA supports state and local guidelines that all individuals in the public areas of passenger airport terminals wear facial coverings over their nose [...]

Source: US DOT U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao today announced two additional steps by the Department regarding airline service obligations and consumer protections in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to assist the Nation’s economic recovery. The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a second Enforcement Noticeregarding airline ticket refunds given COVID-19’s unprecedented impact on air travel. The document provides answers to some of the most common questions about refunds to help consumers understand their rights and to ensure airlines and ticket agents are complying with aviation consumer protection requirements. In a typical month, the Department receives approximately 1,500 air travel service complaints and inquiries. However, in March 2020 and April 2020, more than 25,000 air travel service complaints and [...]

Source: ACI Airports Council International (ACI) World Governing Board has called for urgent relief measures for airports to assist in dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and also urged a globally coordinated programme of measures to aid in a balanced recovery for the aviation industry. The resolution passed by the board calls for coordinated industry engagement between States, regulatory authorities, and all aviation stakeholders, to promote an internationally recognized framework for a sound, seamless and sustainable recovery. The COVID-19 outbreak is a systemic crisis that has resulted in unprecedented disruption of global air transport. ACI World estimates a reduction of more than 4.6 billion passengers with a decline in total airport revenues on a global scale of more [...]

Source: UNWTO The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released a Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package to offer guidance to Member States in response to COVID-19. The package is structured around three main pillars: economic recovery, marketing and promotion and institutional strengthening and resilience building. With tourism among the hardest-hit of all sectors, UNWTO has identified three possible scenarios for the months ahead. Depending on when restrictions on travel are lifted, international tourist arrivals could decline by 60-80% in 2020. This could translate into a decline in export revenues from tourism of between US$910 billion to US$1.2 trillion and place 100-120 million jobs directly at risk. The social ripple effect is also feared to be at least equally challenging for many [...]