COLOGNE/STOCKHOLM, December 2, 2020 – People travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic should not automatically be considered as high-risk for spreading infection, but should rather be treated in the same way as members of the local population who have not had any direct contact to a person infected with COVID-19, new European guidelines for air travel said.
The Guidelines for COVID-19 Testing and Quarantine of Air Travellers were published jointly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on the request of the European Commission. The document forms an Addendum to the Aviation Health Safety Protocol first published in May 2020.
“Travellers should not be considered as a high-risk population, nor treated as contacts of COVID-19 cases, unless they have been in known contact with a confirmed positive case,” the guidelines said, adding: “Travellers should be treated in the same way as local residents and be subject to the same regulations or recommendations as applied to the local population.”
Based on the latest scientific evidence and information, the document’s conclusions reflect the fact that the prevalence of the new coronavirus among travellers is estimated to be lower than is the case for the general population. In addition, the measures in place in aviation minimise the possibility of transmission during the air travel process.
Please see the press release for more information.
