AASA STATEMENT ON UK RELAXING TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA AND OTHER SOUTHERN AFRICAN NATIONALS
(Posted 14th December 2021)
The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) is relieved that sense has prevailed and the UK has decided to relax the travel restrictions that were hastily imposed on South Africa and other Southern African countries following the announcement of the identification of the Omicron variant by South African scientists last month.
“It was clear from the start that restrictions, the intentions of which are debatable, were counterproductive and ineffective. We trust that policy makers and political leaders will take their lead from science and harmonize their adoption of measures for safe air travel that are recommended by the World Health Organisation and its UN sister body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation. At the same time, governments that have imposed restrictions on air travel ought to provide financial relief to airlines, their service providers and employees who have all been negatively affected by these restrictions” said AASA CEO, Aaron Munetsi.
Adds ATCNews that now would also be a good time for those African countries, which equally imposed travel restrictions against fellow African states, to equally lift restrictions and fall in line with the UK’s decision.
