Cyprus Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos has told his counterparts in the EU that passengers should not just be safe but also feel safe.

He also proposed that coronavirus tests take place in the airports of departure.

Karousos was addressing on Thursday a teleconference of EU Transport Ministers, an announcement by the Press and Information Office (PIO) says.

He noted that there can be no aviation industry if there are no passengers and that therefore any investments and actions taken should ultimately aim to restore passenger trust in using airlines to travel.

During his intervention the Cypriot Minister also said that it is very important to restore as soon as possible the connectivity of EU member states and that corrective steps should be taken allowing passengers to feel safe to use airlines to travel again.

Karousos further noted that right now there is no uniformity within the EU on the travel measures in place, since each member state implements its own criteria and procedures. This practice, he said, complicates the effort for both travellers and airlines operating within the EU which results in delaying the effort for the aviation sector`s recovery.