July 10, 2020

Issued 10 July 2020.  Aer Lingus welcomes the Final Report of the Aviation Recovery Taskforce published today and the recommendations within it.

It was however assumed that the recommendations in the Interim Report of 22 June would first be implemented by the Government. They have not been – the travel restrictions still apply, the 14-day quarantine period for inbound passengers still applies and the Code of Practice for Safe Air Travel has not been published by Government.  The recommendations in the Initial Report of the Tourism Recovery Taskforce of 25 June have also not been implemented by Government.

 

On 6 July the Government referred to criteria that it would use to select “Green List” countries for publication on 20 July – the criteria have not been precisely outlined but it appears that they will be more restrictive than in any country within Europe. It appears that they will be even more restrictive than the criteria the European Union is recommending be applied to passengers from third countries entering the EU. Ireland has failed to act upon the European Commission’s request to Member States to lift all border restrictions to allow free movement of people within the Union by 15th June. Government policy therefore appears to be shifting towards a Covid-19 elimination strategy, rather than one of containment and economic co-existence with the virus.

 

The full economic consequences of such a shift in policy and of Ireland being ‘Closed for Business’ would be profound and will need to be assessed and quantified.

There are inevitable consequences for the prospects of recovery in the aviation and tourism sectors and for employment within these sectors.

 

Ends