IATA: Mideast Quarantine Measures are Not Working

IATA: Mideast Quarantine Measures are Not Working

And the only way to help the recovery is to eliminate quarantine measures and introduce systematic testing of passengers, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The latest figures issued by the IATA forecast global airlines to lose a total of $157 billion this year and next, with those in the Middle East set for 2020 losses amounting to $7.1 billion, and $3.3 billion in 2021.

"Saudi Arabia, just like other countries, was impacted a lot because of its large networks and large carriers that are operating not by Saudi carriers only . . . Saudi Arabia has around 94 international carriers flying in and out of the country, and all those were stopped,“ Muhammad Ali Albakri, IATA regional vice president for the Middle East and Africa, told Arab News.

He pointed out that due to its strategic geographical position the Middle East had a high degree of connectivity, with 1,060 routes as of April 2019.

All flights in, out, and within Saudi Arabia were grounded in March. While domestic flights restarted in May and Riyadh has reported that the volume of traffic has recovered to nearly 60 percent, international flights are not due to restart until January at the earliest.

FASTFACT

43%

IATA expects Middle East