A4E: Airline CEOs call for gradual lifting of European travel restrictions for summer 2021

Airlines for Europe (A4E) reported (10-Jun-2021) airline CEOs attending its aviation summit called on European governments to restore freedom of movement for citizens and gradually lift all travel restrictions for summer 2021, citing rising vaccination rates and tools such as the EU's Digital COVID Certificate system. A4E expects EU ambassadors to finalise council recommendations on a coordinated lifting of travel restrictions in Europe during a meeting on 11-Jun-2021. A4E is calling for the adoption of updates to the latest proposal, including the following:

• Vaccinated people can travel restriction free;
• People who have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 180 days should be able to travel without a test or being subjected to quarantine measures;
• People who have tested negative should be exempted from additional tests and/or quarantine measures;
• EU member states must adopt a uniform approach to ease travel restrictions, accepting either a negative PCR test 72 hours before arrival or 48 hours in the case of rapid antigen tests and no testing needed from non-risk areas;
• Unified rules for children travelling with exempt parents: Minors accompanying their parent(s) should not be forced to test/quarantine when their parents are not required to do so. Children under six years old should be exempt from all measures;
• 14 day incidence rate thresholds in the ECDC map should be increased from 50 to 75 for orange areas;
• Vaccination, recovery from COVID-19 or a negative test must be proven by producing a Digital Covid-19 Certificate (DCC) or by other means, until the DCC is available. [more - original PR]