“All of this points to a longer recovery period and more pain for the industry and the global economy,” Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air Transport Association, said Tuesday.

There is “little chance for an upswing in international air travel unless governments move quickly and decisively to find alternatives to border closures, confidence-destroying, stop-start re-openings and demand-killing quarantine,” he added.

In most of Europe, the daily increase in new infections is far below the peak around the end of March. However, Spain registered more than 900 new infections on three occasions over the past week, a trend not seen since early May. Fresh outbreaks occurred in Catalonia and neighboring Aragon.

Even before the latest uptick, tourism demand was seen plummeting by more than half this year and not expected to return to pre-crisis levels until 2023, according to the European Travel Commission. As many as 30 million jobs could be lost in 2020, the ETC, which represents 33 national tourism organizations, predicted this month in its latest quarterly report.

ETC Executive Director Eduardo Santander said governments must adopt a “harmonized approach” to travel restrictions “if they want to save the travel sector in Europe.”

‘Fragmented Picture’
“Unfortunately we see just the opposite,” Santander said Tuesday in emailed comments. “A very fragmented picture, constantly changing, and therefore travel confidence is at a record low.”

Robert Griggs, policy and public affairs director at Airlines UK, a lobby group for the industry, said a more targeted, regional approach is needed “where quarantine could apply only to affected regions.” Airport testing would allow people who are Covid-19 negative to continue traveling without the need to self-isolate on arrival, he added.

“These measures are vital if we’re going to support a sector through this latest blow and as we head toward what is going to be a hugely challenging winter,” Griggs said.

To be sure, it’s not all bad news in Europe’s traditional holiday destinations. Johanna Strand, a spokeswoman for Greece’s South Aegean Islands, said the number of passengers arriving at airports including Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes is increasing.

‘Break-Even Point’
Greek authorities were widely praised for their handling of the virus and the nation has recorded a mere 4,336 cases, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. That compares with more than 280,000 in Spain and nearly 250,000 in Italy.