New guidelines from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) state that "the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in people traveling by air is estimated to be lower that spread to the general population or between contacts of confirmed cases. "
According to the guidelines, the prevalence of Covid-19 among people traveling is believed to be less than 1%.
"The available evidence does not support quarantine and passenger testing as an effective public health measure which will significantly reduce the overall transmission to the general population. In the current epidemiological situation, quarantine or systematic testing for air travelers in relation to "SARS-CoV-2 is not recommended," the EU health agency added.
The joint report argued that travelers should not be treated "as a high-risk population" unless they have been in contact with a Covid-19 confirmed case and that they should simply be subject to the same rules as the local population.
The Airports Council International (ACI) Europe, an aviation industry travel association, welcomed the report and urged member states to lift "quarantine measures and other travel restrictions immediately."
Regarding travel issues, which will increase in the region at Christmas and New Year, the European Commission said that the quarantine request "can be made when the epidemiological situation in the region of origin is worse than the destination country" . The EU executive has called for a more harmonized approach, but member states have, for the most part, implemented restrictions on travelers coming from inside or outside EU countries.
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Sources: Euronews, ACI, EASA
