The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has renewed the call on government to ensure employees within the aviation sector be considered as essential workers during the impending Covid-19 vaccine campaign.
This call on government for the aviation industry and the need for its workers to be considered as essential when the vaccine is rolled out across the globe and that they will play a vital role in the distribution thereof. The transportation of the Covid-19 vaccines has already begun, and calculations show, it will require the equivalent of 8,000 Boeing 747 freighter aircraft for global distribution. It is therefore essential that the qualified workforce is in place to ensure a functioning logistics chain.
Given the strict security provisions at airports, and the fact that many of the functions rendered by aviation logistic companies require specialized employees, it extremely difficult to find replacement labour within this field. The IATA’s call has been aligned with the Roadmap for Prioritising Uses of Covid-19 Vaccines by the World Health Organisation’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (Sage).
The AGM has also reiterated the vital role of air transport in facilitating the global response to the pandemic, including the timely distribution of medicines, testing kits, protective equipment and eventually vaccines.