Dublin Airport Chief Executive Dalton Philips has said that “confusion and chaos continue to stall air travel’s recovery” despite a new EU agreement which was designed to cut the need for quarantines or other restrictions.
EU foreign ministers recently agreed to adopt a new “traffic-light” system to allow free movement for those from regions with low Covid-19 rates, however Mr. Philips, Chief Executive of DAA, claims that “confusion and chaos” will continue to hit safe travel guidelines.
He said: “The new framework does not go as far as the industry hoped, as it allows member states to set their own quarantine and testing rules, without harmonisation.”
“It appears that 14-day movement restrictions will continue to apply to passengers from red and amber countries.
“This may be waived for those arriving from amber areas if they have a negative pre-departure test.
“In essence, therefore, opportunities for any significant uplift in travel – and by default Ireland’s faltering economy – as a result of this system are likely to be extremely limited,” he continued.
“In our view, pre-departure testing is a safer alternative to restrictions as it would mean we can screen out a significant proportion of the risk before a passenger arrives in Ireland.
“Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the emerging picture.
“We believe an outbound testing facility is required to support reciprocal arrangements in other countries and to facilitate reinstating Ireland’s connectivity and therefore its economy.”
About two-thirds of European airports now offer testing and DAA has already secured suppliers to provide pre-departure testing at its airports.
