Nigel Keal, President, ETRC.

The European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) has welcomed today’s (13 May) publication of the European Commission guidelines and recommendations on the restoration of safe transport services in Europe.

ETRC is urging European governments to work quickly to agree and implement common standards. The aim is to ensure measures are fully co-ordinated in order to restore confidence and enable a safe and comfortable passenger experience.

Proposed EU guidelines and recommendations include the coordinated lifting of quarantine requirements for incoming air travellers as soon as possible and the allowance of travel retailers to open airport, port and ship stores when commercially viable.

The latter is in line with ETRC’s Best Practice Guidelines outlining the practical measures required to reopen DF&TR shops in the midst of Covid-19. The guidelines were published last month and can be found on a dedicated page created in response to the pandemic.

A strong communication campaign to announce measures being taken to reassure citizens and rebuild their confidence in air and sea transport is also proposed within the guidelines.

‘WARMLY WELCOMED’ GUIDANCE

Nigel Keal, President, ETRC commented: “This guidance from the European Commission is to be warmly welcomed. It may not be everything we need, but it is the first major contribution by the EU to the rebuilding of our industry.”

He added: “Operationally, our shops face very different issues to supermarkets and therefore different solutions are required. While more detailed guidance on airport operations will be forthcoming, the position expressed today by the EU recognises the key differences between duty free and domestic retailers and the need for tailored solutions.

“We strongly welcome that understanding and urge European governments to take the same approach.

“Passengers need to have confidence that air and sea travel is safe. Across Europe and beyond, there needs to be consistency in how these measures are implemented. Airports, airlines, hotels and other travel infrastructure needs to have consistently high standards. That is the real value of what the EU is trying to achieve and ETRC is pleased to be playing its part in that process.”