Airlines urge G7 nations to loosen COVID border stance

FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A310 plane is seen through an aircraft window at recycling company Aerocycle in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada August 25, 2020. Picture taken August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

PARIS (Reuters) - Global airlines urged the G7 rich nations on Wednesday to agree to use more flexible data-based methods when deciding whether to keep borders closed in response to COVID-19, rather than maintaining blanket rules that disrupt travel.

The head of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, told an online briefing governments across the world should let airlines and travellers assess the risks of travel based on freely available data. The former British Airways head also said he was confident Europe could begin to return to normal travel in the second half of the year.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Laurence Frost)

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