Air travelers should not automatically be considered at high risk for the spread of Kovid-19, and should be treated as members of the local population who have not been in direct contact with the infected person under the new European guidelines for air travel.

The guidelines for Covid-19 testing and air travelers’ quarantine, jointly published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (ESA), have been described as “really dangerous”. The “madman” of a prominent Irish public health professional.

The guidelines, requested by the European Commission and published on Wednesday afternoon, “do not treat passengers as“ high-risk populations, nor as contacts in the Covid-19 cases, unless they are related to a confirmed positive case. ”

Instead, passengers should be “treated as locals and subject to the same rules and recommendations that apply to the local people.”

Family reunion

Based on the latest scientific evidence and data, the document concludes that the prevalence of the new corona virus among travelers is lower than in the general population. In addition, existing procedures in aviation reduce the likelihood of transfers during air travel.

The guidelines indicate that a 14-day embargo will only be effective in “exceptional circumstances” where a country has complete control over the virus and its transmission level is close to zero, and only after that do passengers enter from countries where the virus is transmitted.

“This new document is a genuine European contribution to the achievements of European citizens,” said Patrick Cai, EASA Executive Director.

He added that its findings would be instrumental in making many family reunions possible at Christmas. It builds on the steps we have already taken using the Aviation Health Safety Protocol and reinforces the notion that there are no inherent risks in flight – in fact, the airline population is seen as a relatively “coveted-safe” population. ”