‘Ironical’ that region with ‘very few’ virus cases lags Europe’s restart efforts
TOKYO — Asian governments are moving too slowly to reopen borders to international travel, the chief of a regional aviation group told the Nikkei Asian Review, saying states were failing to capitalize on their success in curbing the spread of the new coronavirus.
Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines and former regional vice president of Singapore Airlines, said it was “ironical” that Europe was further along than Asia in trying to reconnect countries, despite the former having suffered far more illnesses and deaths from the contagion.
Governments in Asia need to move faster to restore travel links to regain consumer confidence, said Menon. The aviation industry has been thrust into crisis by the pandemic, with most airlines staring into a financial abyss after fleets were grounded and travel bans imposed.
“Unfortunately, in Asia-Pacific I find governments are reluctant to open up rules to allow [international] travelers,” said Menon. “Asia-Pacific was the first to confront the virus. So logically speaking, Asia-Pacific should be the one to first recover. But instead it is Europe that is doing it … which is very ironical if you look at any country in Asia-Pacific [which now has] no or very few cases of coronavirus.”
While some Asian countries have started to open borders to one another through “travel bubbles” — agreements between countries that have sufficiently contained COVID-19 to open their borders to regular travel — Menon’s criticism reflects frustration in the airline industry that more commercial flights have not been allowed to resume.
The Kuala Lumpur-based AAPA includes international airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, ANA Holdings, Japan Airlines and China Airlines. It is run as a nonprofit organization fully funded by annual airline memberships.
Aviation companies in the region have been hit hard by travel restrictions, including strict border control. Another AAPA member, Thai Airways International, is facing a major overhaul under bankruptcy proceedings while Cathay has been rescued by the Hong Kong government. The region’s biggest low-cost carrier, AirAsia Group, decided to reduce its workforce by up to 30%.
The European Commission recommended to Schengen member states and associated countries to lift internal border controls from Monday, and gradually reopen borders to non-European Union members starting July 1 to help the summer tourism industry.
Italy, France, Germany and other countries in Europe have started opening up to visitors from certain countries, most of which do not require coronavirus tests.