International Air Transport Association Urges Europe To Extend Validity Of COVID Passport

International Air Transport Association Urges Europe to Extend Validity of COVID Passport

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2021) The European Union's Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) should remain valid for significantly longer than the only nine month period recommended by the European Commission, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Friday.

"The IATA called for caution in response to a European Commission Recommendation that the EU DCC should only remain valid for up to nine months after the second vaccination dose, unless a booster jab is administered," the Montreal-based trade association said in a statement.

The EU DCC had already proved to be a great success in driving a common continent-wide approach to managing the COVID-19 health crisis and in facilitating the freedom of people to travel again, IATA said.

The certificate "underpins a fragile recovery in the travel and tourism sector. And it is critical that any changes to it have a joined-up approach that recognizes the impact of divergent policies by individual member states and promotes further harmonization across Europe," IATA Regional Vice President for Europe Rafael Schvartzman said.

If booster shots are mandated to maintain the validity of the DCC, it is vital that states harmonize their approach to the length of time allowed between the point of full vaccination and administering the additional dose and the nine months proposed by the Commission could be insufficient, IATA cautioned.

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