Calling for European airfreight solution
Europe's air cargo carriers have proven essential in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, transporting over 107,000 t of PPE last year - the equivalent of 1,000 fully-loaded B777F.
With the transport of Covid-19 vaccines, immediate policy action on a number of air cargo issues in Europe is urgently required, as outlined in Airlines for Europe's (A4E) position paper "Fighting the Covid-19 Pandemic and Key Policy Challenges in 2021", such as:
- Include loadmasters, cargo attendants and flying mechanics to the EU definition of "crew members", considered as essential staff, like pilots;
- A4E is calling on EU leaders to give prioritisation to air transport workers for vaccination;
- Development and harmonisation of EU-wide security standards (with national standards). (ah)