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Scare tactics? Airlines say world has overreacted to the Omicron variant

Global airlines blasted governments on Wednesday for worsening the Omicron scare through snap border measures and "rip-off" virus testing regimes, and urged politicians to let travellers make their own decisions based on scientific data.

Global airlines blasted governments on Wednesday for worsening the Omicron scare through snap border measures and “rip-off” virus testing regimes, and urged politicians to let travellers make their own decisions based on scientific data.

Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association in the U.K, predicted “knee-jerk” border restrictions resulting from the coronavirus variant would ease soon, but it was too early to say whether holiday travel would be disrupted.

“We can’t shut down everything when a new variant appears,” Walsh told a news briefing, adding hasty travel bans had penalised countries like South Africa for reporting findings.

However, he predicted the latest health emergency would be short-lived and said it would not impact IATA forecasts which predict a return of air travel to pre-crisis levels from 2024.

Walsh said competition authorities should investigate the prices charged for COVID-19 tests which in some cases bore no relation to their true cost.

Britain’s competition watchdog said in August it would help the government take action against COVID-19 testing companies if it found they were breaching consumer law, amid concerns about the price and reliability of PCR travel tests in the country.

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“I hope governments and competition regulators step in and stop consumers being ripped off,” Walsh said. “I do think we need to understand how that has happened and where all the money (has) gone.”

The strongest warning came from Emirates airline President Tim Clark who said a major hit to the peak December travel season would cause “significant traumas” in the global aviation business.

British budget airline EasyJet also spoke of a softening in demand in recent weeks as the resurgence of the virus in parts of continental Europe prompted customers to rethink city break plans.

Clark said the next few weeks, the run-up to the Christmas and New Year holiday season, would prove critical for the airline industry as scientists assess the risks.

“I would say probably by the end of December, we’ll have a much clearer position,” Clark said in an interview for Reuters.

“But in that time, December is a very important month for the air travel business,” he added. “If that is lost, or the winter is lost to a lot of carriers, there will be significant traumas in the business, certainly the aviation business and the periphery.”

Via AAP