Response to Omicron variant, a new blow to aviation industry that had hoped worst of the pandemic was over

Airlines, passengers, and businesses had to respond to a deluge of travel restrictions announced over the weekend to slow the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant. 

An initial spate of flight bans from southern Africa, where omicron was first detected, gave way to wider-ranging measures that will make travel more expensive and less convenient -- if possible at all -- recalling earlier days in the pandemic. 

• UK has added ten southern African countries to their red list and will require all arrivals to do a day 2 PCR test and self-isolate until they have got a negative result.
• From Tuesday, Japan will ban foreign visitors until more is known about the variant, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in Tokyo on Monday. 
• Spain also changed its travel requirements for incoming travelers from the UK, one of its major source markets for tourism. From December 1, travelers must be fully vaccinated instead of being able to show proof of a negative Covid test.

The industry had just begun to recover after 20 months of volatile restrictions and periods of enforced closure. In the run-up to Christmas, an increasing number of businesses had begun to plan events or resume sending staff abroad.

In a statement released on Friday, the International Air Transport Association said governments must find “safe alternatives” to closing borders and that “travel restrictions are not a long-term solution to control Covid variants”.

The Omicron variant is likely to spread internationally, posing a "very high" global risk where COVID-19 surges could have "severe consequences" in some areas, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday.

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