Covid-19 has already devastated the air transport industry in the GCC and the wider Middle East. The demand in terms of passenger volumes is forecast to fall 56% in 2020 year-on-year for airlines and 47% for airports.
Airlines in the region are expected to post a net loss of $4.8bn this year as passenger revenues decline by $24bn compared to the previous year, according to the global trade body of airlines IATA. Airports in the region estimated total revenue loss of $7bn, representing a 52% year-on-year decline in 2020.
Job losses in aviation and related industries in the region could reach 1.2mn and GDP supported by aviation could fall by $66bn. Before the Covid-19 crisis, aviation supported 2.4mn jobs in the region and generated $130bn in GDP.
Obviously, air connectivity is critical to the economic and sustainable development in the Middle East; effective recovery of air transport in the region is essential to support the economy post-Covid-19.
Recently, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which is a specialised agency of the United Nations, issued guidelines for restoring air connectivity to ensure the safe and harmonised restart of aviation in the region.
The ICAO guidance proposes a phased approach to restarting aviation and identifies a set of generally applicable risk-based measures which, in line with recommendations and guidance from public health authorities, will mitigate the risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus during the travel process.
Measures include physical distancing to the extent feasible and implementation of adequate risk-based measures where distancing is not feasible, for example in aircraft cabins; wearing of face coverings and masks by passengers and aviation workers.
The other measures include routine sanitation and disinfection of all areas with potential for human contact and transmission; health screening, which could include pre- and post-flight self-declarations, as well as temperature screening and visual observation, conducted by health professionals.
Contact tracing for passengers and aviation employees: updated contact information should be requested as part of the health self-declaration, and interaction between passengers and governments should be made directly though government portals have been suggested.
Also suggested are passenger health declaration forms, including self-declarations in line with the recommendations of relevant health authorities, encouraging electronic tools instead of paper and testing: if and when real-time, rapid and reliable testing becomes available.
The key principles, recommendations and guidelines provide governments with a framework for restarting aviation while protecting public health; and are intended to inform and align the Covid-19 recovery roadmaps established by states or industry.
ICAO and industry leaders have also urged governments in the region to identify every opportunity where travel restrictions could be lifted, through bilateral or multilateral arrangements among countries - as soon as the epidemiological situation allows for it.
The Middle Eastern countries should swiftly implement the guidelines so that we can ensure truly harmonised and effective measures across the region and passengers can return to air travel with confidence.
The highly interconnected world wants to travel again and needs airlines to play a key role in the economic recovery.
