A4E Issues “Last Call” for Common EU Approach to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions

Airlines for Europe (A4E), Europe's largest airline association, today urged EU leaders to swiftly adopt a renewed and common approach towards COVID-19 travel restrictions to better support the aviation sector and boost Europe's wider economic recovery. The proposal 1 backs the recent European Commission (EC) Council Recommendation1 and the initiative of the German EU Presidency calling for the creation of a European colour-coded map, based on data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). It urges the adoption of common criteria and thresholds to evaluate the epidemiological risk of travelling to/from certain areas, such as the incidence rate (positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and the positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection. It also calls for measures to be implemented at a regional level, based on ECDC data, instead of blanket national restrictions.