Just as the world had started opening up after the Covid-19 pandemic, the latest strain of the virus — Omicron — has forced countries to once again look at shutting down their borders.

The United States and many countries in Europe have put in place restrictions which can be termed as ‘soft lockdown’ for the general public, and ‘full lockdown’ conditions for the non-vaccinated. Some countries like Thailand have re-imposed mandatory quarantine for those entering the country.

However, during the last few days, some countries have lifted certain restrictions.

Mitigating threats

Omicron struck the global aviation industry just as recovery was being witnessed. Figures released by the International Air Transport Association in late December show that demand for air travel in October 2021 measured in revenue passenger kilometres was down by just under 50 per cent compared to October 2019. Global domestic air travel was down 21.6 per cent compared to October 2019 — better than international — largely driven by the robust domestic numbers that the Indian and Chinese markets reported.

Globally, airlines are pinning their hopes on rising vaccination rates and better testing and reporting mechanisms. They believe that this will help the market bounce back, despite hiccups like the Omicron variant. Ensuring the health and safety of passengers will continue to be the top priority in mitigating Covid threats. Seamless and tamper-proof validation of passengers’ real-time health status, vaccination certificates and other critical information at scale are key to making air travel safe.

Digital ecosystem

All stakeholders — the government, international agencies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Air Transport Association, civil society and border agencies — need to make use of technology to protect their lives and livelihood.

Digital health passports (unique digital travel id) for international and domestic travel will pave the way for growth in aviation. This unique id is supported by blockchain technology to ensure the sanctity of data, reports and certifications. Digital health applications should be envisioned as an integrated biometric-enabled framework for real-time test results, travel details and vaccine status, and be interfaced with global initiatives like the IATA Travel Pass. This infrastructure will also ensure fast-tracking of passengers with digital health passports and hence limit pressure on aviation assets which, in the last two years, have successfully created an digital ecosystem for a touchless passenger journey.

An investment in creating such infrastructure with support from IATA, ACI and technology providers will help rescue aviation industry and India, with its strong credentials, can surely guide the world in creating this critical technology infrastructure.

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Published on January 24, 2022