https://aviationweek.com/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/awn-logo.svg
Skip to main content
  • Market Sector
    • Aerospace
    • Air Transport
    • MRO
    • Defense and Space
    • Business Aviation
  • Markets
    • Aerospace
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Connected Aerospace
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Manufacturing & Supply Chain
      • Unmanned & Urban Aviation
      • Commercial Space
      • Program Management
      • Sustainability
    • Air Transport
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports & Routes
      • Airlines & Lessors
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
      • Sustainability
    • MRO
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Supply Chain
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Workforce & Training
      • Sustainability
    • Defense and Space
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Sensors & Electronic Warfare
      • Missile Defense & Weapons
      • Supply Chain
      • Budget, Policy & Operations
      • Space
      • Sustainability
    • Business Aviation
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports, FBOs & Suppliers
      • Flight Deck
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
      • Sustainability
  • Marketplace
  • Services
    • Services
      • Advertising
      • Marketing Services
      • Fleet, Data & APIs
      • Research & Consulting
      • Network and Route Planning
      • Marketplace
  • Store
    • Market Sector

      • Aerospace
      • Air Transport
      • MRO
      • Defense and Space
      • Business Aviation
    • Type View All Products
      • Intelligence Bundles
        • AWIN - Premium
        • AWIN - Aerospace and Defense
        • AWIN - Business Aviation
        • AWIN - Commercial Aviation
      • Market Briefings
        • Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
        • Aviation Daily
        • SpeedNews
        • The Weekly of Business Aviation
      • Directories
        • Air Charter Guide
        • Aviation Week Marketplace
        • Route Exchange
        • The Engine Yearbook
      • Data Services
        • AC-U-KWIK
        • Airportdata.com
        • Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM)
        • CAPA – Centre for Aviation
        • Fleet Discovery Civil
        • Fleet Discovery Military
        • Fleet & MRO Forecast
        • MRO Prospector
      • Publications
        • Air Transport World
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO
        • Business & Commercial Aviation
        • CAPA - Airline Leader
        • Routes magazine
        • ShowNews
      • Resources
        • Downloadable Reports
  • Events
    • Events View All Events
      • MRO
        • MRO Americas
        • MRO Asia
        • MRO Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russia (BEER)
        • MRO Europe
        • MRO Latin America
        • MRO Middle East
        • MRO Transatlantic
        • Military Aviation Logistics and Maintenance Symposium (MALMS)
      • Commercial Aviation
        • Aero-Engines Americas
        • Aero-Engines Asia
        • Aero-Engines Europe
        • Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference (ASC)
        • Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference - Europe (ACE)
        • Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance
      • Aerospace and Defense
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions Conference (ADMA)
        • Aerospace Manufacturing Conference (AMC)
        • Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference (RMC)
        • DefenseChain Conference (DCPE)
      • Air Transport
        • CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit
        • CAPA Latin America Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Live
        • Routes Americas 2021
        • Routes Asia 2021
        • Routes Europe 2021
        • Routes Reconnected
        • TakeOff North America 2020
        • World Aviation Outlook Summit 2020
        • World Routes 2021
      • Business Aviation
        • Business Aviation Week 2020
        • Business & General Aviation Conference (BGA)
      • Awards
        • 20 Twenties
        • Aviation Week Laureates Awards
        • Program Excellence Awards and Banquet
    • Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
  • About
    • About Aviation Week Network
      • Our Story
      • Content and Data Team
      • Aviation Week & Space Technology 100-Year
    • Contact Us
      • Subscriber Services
      • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
      • Content Sales
      • Events
      • PR & Communications
      • Content Licensing and Reprints
      • FAQ
  • Log In
  • Register
  • My Account
    • Profile
    • Sign Out
  • AWIN Access
  • My cart
  1. Back to Air Transport

Share

Airline CEOs: Border Openings And Uniformity Crucial To Airline Recovery

Credit: Hong Kong International Airport

Reopening borders is one of the most urgent concerns for airlines as they grapple with the COVID-19 crisis—not just to ensure immediate survival, but also as an essential ingredient for long-term recovery.

The importance of this issue made it a hot topic for airline leaders at the CAPA – Centre for Aviation Australia Pacific Aviation Summit, which was held as a virtual event on Sept. 2. Industry CEOs and senior executives stressed the need for more action and uniformity on relaxing border restrictions, both for international travel and between parts of the same country. Here are some of the things they said.

Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson

Credit: Nigel Howarth / Aviation Week

Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson notes that Singapore has been one of the most proactive in terms of easing entry and quarantine requirements for certain countries identified as low risk.

However, there is a “reluctance” from other Asia-Pacific countries to follow suit, except for the essential travel corridors, Wilson says. So, Singapore does not have reciprocal agreements for its unilateral initiatives to reduce quarantines.

There have also been no multilateral travel arrangements—involving more than two countries—formed in the Asia-Pacific region. Progress in this regard is “frustratingly slow,” Wilson says. “The ingredients are there, [but] we just don’t see a shared appetite yet.”

Japan Airlines Vice Chairman and Director Tadashi Fujita

Japan is another country where the government is taking steps to reopen international travel, says Tadashi Fujita, vice chairman and director for Japan Airlines.

He says the expansion of COVID-19 testing capacity “is one of the essential factors” in the government’s plans to resume international travel. In July, 2,000 tests per day could be carried out on inbound passengers. But this rate is expected to increase to 10,000 tests per day, thanks to new testing centers at Haneda Airport and Narita Airport in Tokyo, and at Osaka’s Kansai Airport.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker

Credit: Joepriesaviation.net

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says the wide variety of national standards for closing borders or restricting flights due to COVID-19 is one of the airline’s main challenges in operating internationally.

Al Baker urged international organizations to become more involved in establishing global standards on this issue, to allow airports to open safely and efficiently. He notes that differing quarantine standards are confusing passengers and airlines. When COVID-19 vaccines become available, internationally recognized health certificates should be issued, he says.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce

Credit: Rob Finlayson

The immediate concern for Australian airline CEOs is reopening domestic borders between states. A resurgence in coronavirus cases has caused most Australian states to heavily restrict or block domestic travel across state lines.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce contends that state border closures are currently not based on scientific or fact-based criteria. He is urging the development of nationally agreed upon standards to determine when COVID-19 restrictions should be removed from travel between states or applied in more specific localities. “Business doesn’t like uncertainty,” he says.

While Qantas has enough liquidity to survive the state closures for some time if necessary, the same is not true for smaller tourist operators, says Joyce. He notes that it will be a big blow for the economy and leisure travel if the tourist ecosystem disappears.
Previous
Next

This is an abbreviated version of an article by Adrian Schofield that appeared in Aviation Week & Space Technology. Find out what else was said by airline CEOs in the full article (locked for subscribers).

Not a subscriber? Sign up here. 

Aviation Week Intelligence Network
Monitor the market and connect your business to the people, programs and proprietary data driving the Commercial Aviation market - only available with AWIN.

AVD_AWIN_270

Stay Connected.
Stay Informed
Grow Your Business.

Learn How

Follow us on

Markets

  • Aerospace
  • Air Transport
  • MRO
  • Defense and Space
  • Business Aviation

Products

  • AWIN Intelligence Bundles
  • Market Briefings
  • Publications
  • Data Services
  • Directories
  • Resources

Contact Us

  • Subscriber Services
  • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
  • Content Sales
  • Events
  • PR & Communications
  • Content Licensing and Reprints
  • FAQ

Other Resources

  • Aviation Week Marketplace
  • Knowledge Center
  • Newsletters
  • ShowNews
Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC.
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use