Brussels – Airlines represented by A4E (Airlines for Europe) and IATA (International Air Transport Association), together with airports represented by ACI EUROPE (Airports Council International), lament the recommendation agreed yesterday jointly by EU member states that requires a negative COVID-19 test for passengers travelling between China and the EU. Such a recommendation is at odds with the assessment published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on 3 January 2023[1], which confirms that the current surge of COVID-19 cases in China is not expected to impact the epidemiological situation in the EU/EEA. This is because the COVID-19 variants circulating in China are already present in the EU/EEA, as well as the higher immunity acquired by the population of the EU. As such, systematically testing incoming travellers from China cannot be considered a scientifically driven and risk-based measure. (....)