PARIS, March 25 (Reuters) - European governments can still
salvage the summer tourist season despite COVID-19 vaccine
setbacks and resurgent infections, if they take joint action on
digital health passes and travel rules, airline chief executives
said on Thursday.
"Travel in Europe will be possible this summer if EU
governments deliver," industry group Airlines for Europe said in
a presentation hosted by the CEOs of Air France-KLM,
easyJet, TUI Airlines and Volotea.
Renewed lockdowns and slow vaccine rollouts have raised the
spectre of another weak European summer that would leave
indebted airlines in need of more cash and further damage the
travel and tourism sector, which accounted for 10% of
pre-pandemic jobs and 9% of economic output.
Governments also face political pressures to loosen
restrictions as the crisis drags on. German Chancellor Angela
Merkel had to ditch plans for a circuit-breaker lockdown over
Easter.]
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary this week urged UK
consumers to ignore official advice against booking foreign
travel.
The European Parliament voted on Thursday to fast-track work
on an EU digital certificate allowing travellers to show
evidence of COVID-19 vaccinations, immunity or negative tests.
Airlines are pushing governments to drop blanket travel bans
and quarantines and instead allow consumers meeting those
criteria to travel without restriction.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost,
Additional reporting by Marine Strauss in Brussels; Editing by
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)