Middle East airlines face minimal impact on services from Monkeypox infections: IATA’s Al-Awadhi

Middle East airlines face minimal impact on services from Monkeypox infections: IATA’s Al-Awadhi

Dubai: The chances of travel disruptions brought on by monkeypox infections are minimal, according to a top official at IATA, thus dispelling the concerns among many that it would lead to the same restrictions on flights that COVID-19 brought on. "From what we have seen so far, monkeypox is not highly contagious,” said Kamil Al-Awadhi, IATA's Vice-President for Africa and Middle East. “The reason it's spreading in Europe is because the smallpox injections were stopped years ago there. It's not Coronavirus 2.0 - it's not going to be the same because airlines and airports have taken precautionary measures.” As of Thursday last, the World Health Organization (WHO) has received reports of 257 confirmed monkeypox cases and about 120 suspected cases in 23 nations where the virus is not endemic. Although Middle East airlines will get closer to pre-pandemic passenger numbers by end-2022, the aviation sector will only return to growth mode once the industry’s global concerns are resolved, according to the International Air Transport Association official. Airlines in UK and US have been cancelling hundreds of flights as they face severe staff shortages and, in some cases, because of tech problems. Two days ago, the British low-cost carrier easyjet announced