As the industry prepares for the arrival of newly announced vaccines for the COVID-19 virus, it is clear the impact for travel and aviation will be significant. Not only is there a rush to understand how these will be distributed around the world in the next 12 months but also an understanding of the industry once it is widely available. 

CAPA Live December will gather industry leaders and experts to focus heavily on the outlook for 2021 and examine the rollout of the vaccine and its impact on aviation. 

Be sure to follow the proceedings via Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook using #CAPALive. Post your own comments using the hashtag to join the conversation!

As the industry prepares for the arrival of newly announced vaccines for the COVID-19 virus, it is clear the impact for travel and aviation will be significant. Not only is there a rush to understand how these will be distributed around the world in the next 12 months but also an understanding of the industry once it is widely available.   

CAPA Live December will focus heavily on the outlook for 2021, which includes an examination of the rollout of the vaccine. IATA recently released guidance to ensure that the air cargo industry is ready to support the large-scale handling, transport and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. IATA outlined the inherent challenges that need to be addressed before distribution occurs. These include: 

Capacity & Connectivity: The global route network has been reduced dramatically from the pre-COVID 22,000 city pairs. Governments need to re-establish air connectivity to ensure adequate capacity is available for vaccine distribution.  

Facilities and infrastructure:  The first vaccine manufacturer to apply for regulatory approval requires the vaccine to be shipped and stored in a deep-frozen state, making ultra-cold chain facilities across the supply chain essential. Some types of refrigerants are classified as a dangerous goods and volumes are regulated which adds an additional layer of complexity. Considerations include availability of temperature-controlled facilities and equipment and staff trained to handle time- and temperature-sensitive vaccines.  

Border management:  Timely regulatory approvals and storage and clearance by customs and health authorities will be essential. Priorities for border processes include introducing fast-track procedures for overflight and landing permits for operations carrying the COVID-19 vaccine and potential tariff relief to facilitate the movement of the vaccine.  

Security: Vaccines are highly valuable commodities. Arrangements must be in place to ensure that shipments remain secure from tampering and theft. Processes are in place already, but the huge volume of vaccine shipments will require early planning to ensure that they are scalable.  

Secondly, a post vaccine rollout world will look significantly different to the industry we have grown accustomed to in 2020. We can only predict the impact that the vaccines will have on aviation and travel around the world however some key themes and questions remain yet to be understood, including: 

Effectiveness: Can a person who is vaccinated still be a carrier of the virus? 

Digital health certificates: Would these allow airlines, airports and nation states to be satisfied that a traveller is meeting health criteria – either with COVID antibody/vaccine testing, or based on other criteria – before travelling? 

Capacity & Connectivity: With the introduction of vaccines will 2021 see a significant uptick in capacity and connectivity back to 2019 levels? 

Demand: What will be the impact on demand for travel? Leisure vs Corporate. 

Uniformity: Will locally manufactured vaccines be accepted globally? Will nations accept vaccinated individuals from local manufacturers? 

Join us as we re-write the rules of our industry. 

Be sure to follow the proceedings via Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook using #CAPALive. Post your own comments using the hashtag to join the conversation!