Charting a course for recovery in Asia - what needs to be done to improve regional coordination and openness?

The Asia Pacific response to COVID-19 saw the imposition of tighter and longer restrictions than in any other market – barriers that continue to impact the momentum of the recovery of travel in the region. The reopening of the region has been poorly coordinated and cautious, but positive changes seem to be happening in recent months.

The question now is what are the challenges in ramping up the supply side? Are airlines able to return aircraft fast enough, and how much of a pain point is staffing?

• What is the process for regional governments to improve their coordination on health and travel criteria, to produce rules that are clear for all stakeholders?
• When travel restrictions are imposed, how can aviation stakeholders ensure that they are part of the process in determining their extent?
• What does the travel industry need to do to ensure that any restrictions follow best practices and are removed in a timely manner?
• Are the system bottlenecks we are seeing (travel disruption etc) purely a symptom of the recovery phase, and will these issues ease in the medium term?
• What is the industry going to look like once things have settled down again into steady state?

Moderator: Aviation Week, Senior Air Transport Editor - Asia-Pacific, Adrian Schofield

Panel: 

• PATA, CEO, Liz Ortiguera
• AAPA, Director General, Subhas Menon
• Changi Airport Group, Managing Director Air Hub Development, Ching Kiat Lim
• Cebu Pacific, CCO, Alexander Lao