Anti-Sars action 'crippling airlines'

A GROUPING of 17 international airlines in Asia, including Singapore Airlines, has hit out at the governments of countries that have taken tough action against citizens of Sars-affected countries.

It criticised such 'arbitrary measures' as imposing an entry ban, demanding that visitors produce health certificates, turning away those who appear sick, and putting aircraft in quarantine 'for lengthy periods on the strength of flimsy evidence and unsubstantiated rumour'.

COMPULSORY READING: It was back to school for secondary students yesterday, after an 18-day break. At Zhonghua, students were given pamphlets on Sars to read. -- HOW HWEE YOUNG These moves to combat Sars are counterproductive and unhelpful, said the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) yesterday.

Formed in 1966 to represent the interests of airlines in lobbying governments, aircraft makers and airport authorities, it did not name any country in its terse statement.

But, speaking to The Straits Times, technical director Leroy Keith named Malaysia and Canada as two countries it was referring to.

He pointed to Malaysia's decision to ban the people of China, Hongkong, Vietnam and Canada as a measure which the statement said 'could lead to retaliatory action by other governments'.

In fact, two days after the ban, China ordered its travel agencies to stop all organised tours to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Mr Keith said Canada, the country worst hit by Sars outside Asia, had acted unreasonably when it quarantined a plane that had flown for 13 hours, after a passenger displayed symptoms.

He did not give details of the incident but said: 'Parking an airplane on a runway with a bunch of people on it because somebody sneezed on an airplane... that's an extreme case.'

In a phone interview from Kuala Lumpur, where the association is based, he said countries were also unreasonable in demanding health certificates.

'You sneeze and you have to go and see a doctor before they let you enter the country or on the airplane. That is a hasty action.'

He felt that health declaration forms, detailing recent travel, that passengers complete at airports such as Changi, are good enough.

Other 'certainly reasonable' measures are pre-boarding screening and working with the authorities on passenger notification as well as keeping track of who's on an aeroplane and where they are going.

'Governments need to protect their citizens,' he said, approving the airport health screening recommendation of the World Health Organisation.

Thailand's restrictions affect both visitors and citizens flying in from Sars-hit places. Residents have to stay in voluntary quarantine for 14 days while visitors are given a medical examination on arrival and denied entry if they display any Sars symptom.

Singapore takes the temperature of anyone flying in from an affected place, while Hongkong is considering this for all airport passengers to screen out those with a fever.

These countries, together with Japan, the United States and the Philippines, among others, have also advised their people against travelling to Sars-hit places.

They are Hongkong, Singapore, Toronto in Canada, Guangdong in China and Hanoi in Vietnam.

In its statement, the AAPA said Sars had created 'the worst-ever situation' faced by airlines of the Asia-Pacific region.

Some member airlines had reduced their flights by more than 50 per cent and some have passenger loads that are one-third what they were two weeks ago, said Mr Keith.

Worst off is Cathay Pacific of Hongkong and its dire state is alluded to in the AAPA statement, which warned that governments' hasty reaction could have long-term detrimental effects on the airline industry.

If airlines have to suspend services, the financial consequences of the Sars scare could be prolonged, said the association's director-general, Mr Richard Stirland.

Already, airlines are taking 'meticulous efforts' to minimise the risk of Sars spreading more widely and governments should give more recognition to this, he added.

He is confident Asian airlines will recover eventually but this would require the authorities in Asia to work together.

'Governments in Asia and their agencies must adopt a more coordinated, mutually agreed and mutually acceptable policy on the handling of suspected cases of Sars among passengers,' he said.

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4 posted on 04/14/2003 6:35:05 PM PDT by B4Ranch ( "It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards".Claire Wolfe)

What a bunch of self-serving, industry-centric whiners.

Absolutely the best thing that can happen to the world's transportation service industry is that the mobbed-up dinosaur airlines, including those owned, operated and controlled by Asia's gangster "governments" be allowed to fail.

The likes of the customer-oriented Ryan Airs, Southwests, Virgin Blues and Reno Airs that would spring into being in the healthy vacuum left as the dinosaurs' wake turbulence dissipates would astound us all with their levels of cost efficiency and quality of service.

5 posted on 04/14/2003 6:56:34 PM PDT by Brian Allen (I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny ....)

6 posted on 04/14/2003 7:50:05 PM PDT by B4Ranch ( "It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards".Claire Wolfe)

Like the man said: "It's too late to work within the system -- and too early to shoot the bastards."

Or is it?

For we either get the money back from the world's most Evil, [And their every-bit-as-Evil gangster-politician enablers] who have, largely by way of prohibition and in part by way of the corruption of the once-Civilized world's legal systems [From Rule OF Law to rule by "law" in seven dnc decades] gotten their filthy paws on most of it -- or we are just along for the [Enslaved] ride.

[Including, if our luck has run all of the way out, on the execrable Harry Lee family's "Dynasty Scarelines and Airborne Whorehouse, Inc." (AKA "singapore airlines")]

7 posted on 04/14/2003 8:28:32 PM PDT by Brian Allen (I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny ....)

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