Asia misses the resumption of global travel, as IATA criticizes sanctions | The plane

Hwaseong, South Korea – Asia-Pacific countries have missed out on almost a resumption of global travel, flights are still much below 90 percent lower than before the epidemic, new demonstrations show.

The region is the only region in the world that has not seen any change in air traffic control over the past year, with car traffic rising by 0.3 percent in October compared to September.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the figures Thursday when it warned that numerous restrictions on the spread of the Omicron coronavirus threaten to disrupt the resumption of international flights.

Asia-Pacific travel fell 93.1 percent in October 2021 compared to October 2019 – almost unchanged from the 92.8% decline recorded in September 2021 compared to two years earlier, according to the trade union.

In comparison, Middle Eastern airlines saw demand increase by about 7 percent, while traffic in October dropped by 60.3 percent compared to the previous plague. Carriers in Europe saw the need to climb by about 6 percent, while cars fell by 50.6 percent compared to October 2019.

Latin American flights reported higher than 6 percent, while car sales in October dropped by 55.1 percent.

North American carriers dropped 57 percent in traffic compared to 2019, down from 61.4 percent in September.

African flights dropped by 60.2 percent in October, compared to 62.1 percent in the same period in 2019.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh says governments are putting recovery at risk by following “unprofessional” sanctions despite opposition from the World Health Organization.

“Traffic in October ensures that people can travel when allowed,” Walsh said. “Unfortunately, the government’s response to the release of the Omicron brand threatens a global connection that has taken a long time to rebuild.”

“The WHO ‘s technical concept appeared a few days after Omicron became known in South Africa, and its availability has already been confirmed on all continents.

Although vaccines are gaining momentum in many parts of the region, Asia-Pacific was severely restricted by unnecessary travel even before the new transformation.

The WHO has chosen Omicron to be “an alarming variant”. Although some scientists fear that the virus may be highly contagious or easily vaccinated, health officials have emphasized that little is known about the problem.

Although many countries in recent times have banned travel from southern Africa, where these species were first found, countries including Japan, South Korea and Australia taking action to reduce mobility.

In 2019, about 291 million tourists visited the Asia-Pacific, which contributed $ 875bn to the economy, according to a World Economic Forum survey.

Last month, the International Labor Organization said only five Asian countries – the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei and Mongolia – had disappeared. 1.6 million jobs last year due to the collapse of international travel.

Gary Bowerman, chief executive of a travel and tourism research company in Kuala Lumpur Check-in Asia, told Al Jazeera that traveling in the area is facing “a huge rock to descend”.

“We began to see significant growth in November, especially in South East Asia as other countries began slowly, or planning, to reopen the border,” Bowerman said. “Omicron has stopped this, and this week we have seen the rapid return of governments across the region as they set up new entry and exit barriers.”