Walsh was speaking as Iata detailed demand for air travel in July, which remained far below pre-pandemic levels despite “significant momentum” in the summer peak.

“As the Northern Hemisphere summer travel season draws to a close it is clear that too many governments missed the opportunity to apply a risk-based approach to managing their borders,” he said.

“The growing number of fully vaccinated travellers and the prevalence of testing provided the chance to restore international connectivity and bring much needed relief to economies that are heavily reliant on travel and tourism.

Instead, governments continued to behave as if it was the summer of 2020.”

Walsh said decisions were made “not based on science, but on political expediency”.

“Governments have rightly urged their populations to be vaccinated; now governments need to have confidence in the benefits of vaccinations - including the freedom to travel,” he said.

Global demand for air travel in July was down 53% compared with July 2019, but Iata said this was a significant improvement from June, when demand was 60% below June 2019 levels.

“July results reflect people’s eagerness to travel during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Domestic traffic was back to 85% of pre-crisis levels, but international demand has only recovered just over a quarter of 2019 volumes. The problem is border control measures,” Walsh added.

International passenger demand in July was 73.6% below July 2019, bettering the 81% decline recorded in June 2021 versus 2019. All regions showed improvement, with North American airlines posting the smallest decline in international traffic.

Europe’s airlines saw July international traffic decline 64% versus July 2019, significantly bettering the 77% decrease in June.