Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association, described the procedures as disappointing.



The world's largest airline trade body has criticized restrictions on passengers from China due to a surge in COVID-19 cases there.

The International Air Transport Association said governments' decisions to impose Covid tests and other measures on travelers from China were ineffective and "disappointing" responses.


The European Union is currently studying the issue of requesting a Covid test before departure from all travelers from China wishing to enter the European Union.


France, Spain and Italy have already announced, independently, that they will impose restrictions - joining many other countries around the world, including the United States, India and Japan.


Beijing called the increased international restrictions on travelers from its territory "unacceptable" and warned that it might take countermeasures "on the basis of the principle of reciprocity".



These measures were imposed as China experienced a surge in infections after Beijing abandoned strict containment measures last month.


"It is extremely disappointing to see this sudden return to measures that have proven so ineffective over the past three years," Willie Walsh, IATA's director general, said in a statement.




The International Air Transport Association, which represents 300 airlines representing 83 percent of all air traffic, said the coronavirus was already spreading widely within the borders of countries that mandate the tests.


Walsh added: “Research conducted on the arrival of the Omicron variant (in late 2021) concluded that putting barriers in the way of travel made no difference to peak infection.”


"We have the tools to deal with COVID-19 without resorting to ineffective measures that cut off international contact, harm economies and destroy jobs," he said.


Devastated by the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, global passenger traffic is expected to reach 70.6 percent of the pre-crisis level in 2022 - lower than previously forecast when China imposed severe travel restrictions.


The Chinese authorities announced that they would stop imposing quarantines on incoming travelers on January 8.