UPDATE (2020-06-03):
The IATA issued a press release on 2020-06-01 entitled Urgent Implementation of ICAO COVID-19 Guidelines Needed. Here are some important excerpts [emphasis added] with commentary:
CONTACT TRACING for passengers and aviation employees: updated contact information should be requested as part of the health self-declaration, and interaction between passengers and governments should be made directly though government portals;
- "Government portals" - does this mean that peoples entire "contact history" will be recorded and databased on government portals/servers? If so, this will be quite dangerous as they could easily check for other information that may be connected to the database (e.g., dissidents, unpaid taxes, etc.)
TESTING: if and when real-time, rapid and reliable testing becomes available.
They seem to be suggesting that they would indeed require testing when such tests become "ready". Questions:
- Who exactly would do the testing? At the airport? In advance?
- Test for each country visited/exiting?
A real Pandora's box!
PASSENGER HEALTH DECLARATION FORMS, including self-declarations in line with the recommendations of relevant health authorities. Electronic tools should be encouraged to avoid paper;
- Which 'health authority' would matter here? (Your home country, departing country, transit country, arrival country, all of the above?
Assuming this would be done pre-flight, what tools would be used? Terminals at the gate? (I can just imagine hundreds of people lining up and entering the info - many could have difficulty, get impatient, ...) If it is by cell phone, then aren't there privacy concerns?
Can't see how these measures could easily work without major disruptions and inefficiencies to both the airlines and passengers...