Filenews 2 June 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
Airport chaos and a great deal of passenger inconvenience are being warned by the International Airports Council Europe, in view of the increased traffic at airports in the summer.
In a communication, ACI EUROPE calls for better coordination by European governments to address the situation, and calls on the European Airport Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to review their relevant guidelines and requirements regarding distance keeping due to the pandemic, taking into account the fact that more and more travellers are being vaccinated.
ACI EUROPE is talking about an unprecedented operational challenge, without ruling out, on the basis of what is currently in force, causing chaos at airports in the summer. As it notes in a statement, passenger traffic is expected to triple in the summer, with passengers increasing from 47m passengers in May 2014 to 125 million in August.
On the basis of what the Council maintains, the problem will arise because of the need to maintain the necessary distances, on the basis of the current regulations, which significantly reduce the useful space of airports, but also because of the still double and uncoordinated control of the various tests required by the Member States, which will significantly increase the service time of passengers and thus their inconvenience.
To address the situation, ACI EUROPE is calling on European governments to adopt a series of measures, first adopting the Commission's proposal to update the Council recommendation on the coordination of restrictions on free movement in the EU to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, a proposal made public on Monday.
Europe's airports are also asking Union governments to ensure that they are ready to jointly implement the European digital covid certificate, but also that they, together with the Commission, recognise relevant vaccination certificates, digital or printed, issued by other countries.
ACI EUROPE also requests that the double tests for passengers - one on departure and one on arrival - be terminated and that checks be carried out as early as possible, in order to avoid inconvenience to passengers, if possible by presenting the tests and checking them through online check-in. It also calls for adequate staffing at airports for testing and certification purposes. Finally, as we mentioned, ACI EUROPE highlights the need to revise the relevant EASA and ECDC directives on maintaining physical distances at airports, in the light of improving the EU's epidemiological picture and increasing the number of those who have been vaccinated.
Made... Cyprus airports
European governments are also looking forward to co-ordinating controls on COVID-19 disease, with Hermes Airports expressing readiness to manage the situation. "As a member of ACI Europe we share the concerns of all operators in the aviation industry about the risk of inconvenience to passengers at airports this summer, due to the many different controls for the Covid-19. We hope, however, that there will be as balanced and common a policy as possible in the procedures followed at European airports," Hermes Airports Senior Director of Aviation Development, Marketing and Communication Maria Kouroupi told "F".
"For our part, as far as Larnaca and Paphos airports are concerned, we have ensured a comfortable and health-safe journey for all passengers, so that they feel as protected as possible," he added, noting that Cypriot airports faithfully follow the health protocols set by the competent authorities. She said that since this year additional laboratory testing areas have been set up at Cypriot airports, so that passengers' movement "especially on arrival, is done seamlessly and with a clear separation of flights and facilitates the flow of travellers, thus limiting any inconvenience".
