IATA urges governments to abandon PCR tests

Created on 02.08.2021 10:11

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urges governments around the world to adopt the recent WHO's PCR Guidelines (World Health Organization), as reported by the Tengritravel.kz. According to IATA, 78 % of travelers believe that local governments should bear the costs associated with mandatory PCR testing, while 86 % of surveyed persons are still willing to take a PCR test.

“IATA supports the coronavirus testing as a key to opening borders for international travel. But our support is not unconditional. In addition to being reliable, testing should be easily accessible and appropriate to the level of risk associated with a particular line. Several global governments cannot provide it due to different price of PCR costs. At best, a PCR test is expensive, at worst - it's just extortion", said Willie Walsh, the IATA's CEO.

IATA also encourages authorities to use more cost-effective antibody tests. According to the organization, the new generation of rapid tests costs approximately $ 10 (4,257 tenge) per test. In case of positive results, a confirmatory RT-PCR test can be performed to clarify the results. Neither passengers nor carriers have to bear the costs for this test under the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR). The organization also called to cancel any coronavirus testing for persons who were vaccinated. 

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