Transporting the Covid-19 vaccine will be the biggest challenge facing the aviation industry. According to what has been communicated, it takes 8000 Boeing 747s to deliver a single dose of vaccine to all the inhabitants of the planet, which turns out to be “the mission of the century for the global air cargo industry. “.
This situation gives rise to the concern of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which works in collaboration with airlines, airports and the pharmaceutical sector as well as health organizations, to develop the transport plan. of the future vaccine.
IATA, which has already called for open borders to revive activity and air connectivity around the world, said in a statement that “Governments must anticipate with specific measures such as simplified customs procedures, exemptions quarantine for crews, issuance of accelerated traffic rights and possibly incentive tariffs for air transport of future vaccines ”.
Passenger transport holds half of the world’s freight transport, which worries the parties concerned! more than 50% of global air freight is transported in the holds of aircraft with passengers, which recorded a drop in passenger activity of nearly 80% in July 2020.
Air freight transport … towards opening up
The drop in freight recorded – 13.5% compared to the previous year, while the transpacific cargo traffic in July 2020 was + 3.7% compared to July 2019 and the transatlantic traffic was -30.3%.
The opening up of air freight transport is essential after this crisis of the coronavirus pandemic. This is changing rapidly, and this is good news for IATA, which sees it as a beacon of hope in this difficult environment.
Canadian Borders …
IATA calls on Canada to open borders, without neglecting the safety of Canadians, by considering “safe options”. The CEO of the association spoke about the situation saying that “There are alternatives to the current quarantine measures, which could both keep Canadians safe and revive the economy.”
Members of IATA, Air Canada and WestJet, already have a screening system, which could be in addition to the guidelines set by ICAO for all airlines, airports and air transport, to avoid measures of generalized quarantine and thus reopen Canada safely to international and domestic travel, according to the same organization.