EUROPE. A highly anticipated Aviation Health Safety Protocol proposed by two influential European agencies has been welcomed by airport and travel retail representatives, but looks set to curtail inflight retail sales as contact between crew and travellers is minimised on aircraft.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Centre for the Prevention for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published their Health Safety Protocol for the industry in Europe, which was welcomed by ACI Europe as signalling “a safe return to air travel”.
The guidelines, which are expected to be adopted by EU member states, outline how airport operators and airlines should serve passengers and staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a return to flying expected as national lockdowns ease. EASA and ECDC were mandated by the EU Commission to help set a guide for the industry.
Among the guidelines recommended within airports is that access to terminals is restricted to passengers, crew and airport staff, physical distancing is imposed, wearing of masks recommended and that contact and touching of surfaces should be minimised.
The guidelines also note that “reopening of non-essential airport services should be pursued, initially opening those that can ensure physical distancing with respect to national provisions on similar services outside of the airport”. This is broadly positive for the industry, and means that airport shops and restaurants can reopen (while imposing distancing and other guidelines), assuming they are allowed to open in the relevant local market.
Also, while the guidelines suggest minimising hand luggage onboard, they do not seek to impose a single-bag rule, for example, which could restrict travellers from carrying shopping onboard.
Onboard the aircraft, the report says, alongside a range of health and hygiene measures, “operators should reduce onboard service to the minimum necessary to ensure comfort and wellbeing standards for passengers and limit the contact between crew members and passengers”.
Among the measures that would aid this goal are:
- No duty free or other non-essential product sales on board
- Reduced food and drink service
- Preference for pre-packaged and sealed food and drink products, such as canned drinks
- Wherever possible, payment procedures involving touch or contact, such as cash payments, should be avoided to mitigate transmission between crew members and passengers.
ETRC President Nigel Keal said: “This is welcome leadership from both EASA and the European Commission which sets out harmonised measures to be introduced in the EU Member States. The guidance shows a clear path to reopening of travel retail and duty free shops as people return to air travel.
On the proposal to curb inflight sales, he added: “We advocated strongly for a resumption of all duty free services, including inflight sales, and are disappointed that this temporary restriction is proposed in the guidelines. We will continue to voice to the relevant authorities our position on this and hope this is removed soon.”
Duty Free World Council President Sarah Branquinho said: “We are pleased to see that under the EASA guidelines duty free shops should expect to be able to trade again as airports and airlines return to normal scheduling in the second half of 2020.
“These measures are a welcome step forward that will enable travel retailers to begin rebuilding their businesses, which have been among some of the most heavily impacted in the world by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“As an industry we have been working together to put guidelines in place to ensure that travel retail stores can provide a safe and secure environment for passengers to shop, as part of their journey.
“Travel retail is an essential part of the wider aviation industry – the value of non-aeronautical revenue for a healthy airport sector has never been clearer, and travel retail’s essential role is apparent.
“We are disappointed that the guidelines have included a recommendation to temporarily restrict inflight sales which is not in line with our industry position. We will continue to advocate in support of the entire duty free industry and seek the lifting of this restriction.
“While this is an encouraging development for European retailers, a recovery for the aviation industry will only be possible with global cooperation.
“The Duty Free World Council is engaging with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and organisations around the world, to work constructively and quickly to develop common standards and guidelines that will ensure the world can get back to business, and passengers back in the air.”
The guidelines, which have also been welcomed by ACI Europe and the International Air Transport Association, will be regularly evaluated and adapted in line with knowledge about the risk of transmission and with development of other diagnostic or preventive measures.
The EASA and ECDC guidelines will also make an important contribution to discussions led by the ICAO COVID-19 Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART) which is tasked with developing the global standards for the safe restart of aviation.
Keal said: “This pandemic and its impact is not limited to Europe; around the world countries are dealing with the same issues. ETRC are calling on ICAO, when developing the international guidance for measures to be introduced for the aviation industry, to follow the position taken by EASA and the European Commission to ensure that duty free shops can reopen alongside the resumption of air travel.”
The full report can be found at this link.
