MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-29 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] the real end of the free world... this is it..
|
thehill.com
Airlines set sights on digital passports for COVID-19 vaccine | TheHill
Alex Gangitano
4-5 minutes
The travel industry is moving ahead with plans to ensure a coronavirus
vaccine means tourism and travel, both domestically and internationally,
can quickly be revived.
Industry leaders are coordinating their efforts to create a digital
passport that would say whether a passenger has been vaccinated for
COVID-19.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced this week
it is in the final phase of development for what it hopes will be
universally accepted documentation that in turn could boost confidence
among wary travelers.
The digital health pass would include a passenger’s testing and vaccine
information and would manage and verify information among governments,
airlines, laboratories and travelers.
“Testing is the first key to enable international travel without
quarantine measures. ***The second key is the global information
infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data
matched with traveler identities in compliance with border control
requirements,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA CEO, said in a statement on
Monday.***
<<
The pass would enable travelers to find verified testing centers and
labs at their point of departure that meet the standards and
requirements of their destination to avoid quarantine rules and travel
restrictions.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca announced Monday that its vaccine candidate,
developed by Oxford University, is 70 percent effective on average but
could be as high as 90 percent. Two other vaccines — one from Moderna
and the other from Pfizer and BioNTech — both recently reported 95
percent efficacy rates.
When asked about how airlines are going to handle the rollout of
vaccines, including how they would know if someone has been vaccinated,
Airlines for America, which represents major commercial carriers, did
not give a direct answer, saying only that U.S. airlines are “committed
to restoring service in a manner that prioritizes the safety and
wellbeing of our passengers and employees.”
Australian airline Qantas is reportedly making plans to require
passengers get vaccinated before any international flights. CEO Alan
Joyce said recently he thinks other carriers should follow suit.
U.S. airlines, which have lobbied for months for another COVID-19 relief
package, say they can help the federal government with vaccine distribution.
“As the nation looks forward and takes on the logistical challenges of
distributing a vaccine, it will be important to ensure there are
sufficient certified employees and planes in service necessary for
adequate capacity to complete the task,” several major airline CEOs
wrote to congressional leaders this month.
With passenger volumes 65 percent below 2019 levels, any sort of relief
— government assistance, testing protocols or a vaccine — would be most
welcome by airlines.
The Thanksgiving holiday, which is typically a large revenue driver for
the travel industry, became more challenging after the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning against traveling as
coronavirus cases surge in almost all parts of the country.
The busiest air travel day during the coronavirus pandemic was the
Sunday before Thanksgiving, when nearly 1.05 million passengers were
screened at U.S. airports.
But that was nowhere near the levels seen in previous years.
“We’re in this situation because of the lack of leadership from the
United States government. Eight months into this and there’s no cohesive
program,” said Peter Vlitas, senior vice president of airline relations
at the Internova Travel Group.
The group argues that international travel would be able to resume if
strict protocols were in place.
“We do not have a contact tracing national policy. If I fly to the U.K.,
I have to fill out a form. If I fly to Greece, I have to fill out a
form. Many countries, you fill out a form. Besides the standard do you
have a fever ... we don’t have the simplest of things,” Vlitas said.
Last month, travel industry groups called on the Trump administration to
pursue an approach to COVID-19 testing that would remove the need for
quarantines and travel bans.
The letter included the U.S. Travel Association, the American Hotel &
Lodging Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who all said the
patchwork approach is “confusing and discourages travel.”
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
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Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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