In the face of the current Covid-19 pandemic, sanitary measures have been restrictive to the point of generating a major economic crisis for commercial airlines. This has led international organizations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to defend the reduction of aeronautical restrictions to increase sanitary prevention by airlines and airports. The present case is an unfortunate situation that affects the trust gained between the authorities and the private air transport sector.
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As we have noted in previous articles, mobility restrictions, especially between countries, have severely affected commercial airlines around the world, with many having to close and cut fleets and staff. The economic losses related to border closures have become a problem that various groups and organizations have been solving while mediating with authorities in an attempt to recover the normality of airline operations, which were increasing favorably before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Therefore, a case such as the one that occurred, where an airline has incurred sanitary negligence of social interest demerits and affects the achievements made with the authorities worldwide to promote the resumption of aeronautical activities. IATA, an organization that has supported commercial aviation operations during the pandemic, used as an argument of “safe aviation” the responsibility of airlines to request Covid-19 tests and deny boarding to those positive for the disease. But the case presented opens the door to a margin of uncertainty about the execution of sanitary measures and provisions on the part of airlines as well as airports, and has also already brought criticism from the respective authorities about the “lack of seriousness and responsibility with which airlines disobey sanitary protocols.”
The case: a positive Covid-19 passenger
On January 13, Salvadoran immigration officials located a passenger infected with Covid-19 when they realized he had tested positive for the disease. The individual in question is Mexican-American and was on a flight from Los Angeles, the USA on an Avianca airline plane, which indicates that the airline allowed the passenger to board despite testing positive for Covid-19. Officials of the country of El Salvador promptly activated their health contingency protocols, and the passenger was immediately isolated; the airline cooperated in searching and notifying people who shared the flight with the infected passenger, a total of 74 individuals according to official sources.
The consequences
Avianca was fined up to US$6,000 by the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners of El Salvador for knowingly allowing the entry of a person infected with Covid- 19 and despite international agreements. The Salvadoran Migration Office commented: “It is alarming and worrying that airlines do not take the necessary measures and considerations to avoid this type of event”.
What do you think about this situation? Do you think all airlines are following the sanitary protocols adequately?
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Image by Bernal Saborio via Flickr under Creative Commons license.
