Air Travel in the Covid-19 Era: The Role of Airports and Airlines in Ensuring Safe Air Travel

Before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aviation industry was improving at a steady pace across the globe. According to ICAO estimates, the total number of passengers carried on scheduled air services was at record levels of approximately 4.5 billion passengers in 2019, which was 3.6% higher than in 2018. By Spring, 2020, as a result of lockdowns, bans, and public fear of COVID-19 exposure, global passenger air travel fell by more than 71% on average, with some countries reaching more than a 90% decline.

Although air travel has historically been an extremely safe method of travel, airports and airlines continue to face many challenges and headwinds to return passenger traffic to pre-pandemic levels. As a result, they are taking extraordinary COVID-19 mitigation measures to ensure passengers that air travel continues to be the safest method of global travel.

Topics of discussion will include our distinguished panelist’s insight on the following relevant topics and more:

• The extraordinary measures being undertaken by their organizations to ensure safe air travel, including newly implemented safety protocols to mitigate transmission of  COVID-19 through person-to-person interaction
• Their view on current and future mitigation measures being implemented and discussed by major international airports and airlines around the globe and how such mitigation efforts are being coordinated
• The challenges and headwinds that major airports and airlines face to stay ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic in the future
• COVID-19 testing and immunization tracking protocols and "gateway" requirements currently being discussed and developed, such as a potential COVID-19 Immunization Passport
• Their view on when global air travel may return to pre-pandemic levels and how the global air travel experience will be different than the pre-pandemic era