Global airlines say nations over-reacted to Omicron variant


Reuters | Paris | Updated: 08-12-2021 19:22 IST | Created: 08-12-2021 19:22 IST
Global airlines say nations over-reacted to Omicron variant
  • Country:
  • France

The head of global airlines body IATA criticised governments for worsening the Omicron scare through snap border measures or "rip-off" testing regimes and urged politicians to let travellers make their own decisions based on scientific data.

Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, predicted "knee-jerk" border restrictions resulting from the coronavirus variant would ease soon but it was to early to say whether holiday travel would be disrupted.

"We can't shut down everything when a new variant appears," Walsh told a news briefing, adding hasty travel bans had penalised countries like South Africa for reporting findings.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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