The number of people saying their quality of life is suffering because of COVID travel restrictions has gone up in the past three months.

Research conducted by the International Air Transport Association reveals 73% say their quality of life is suffering as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions, up six percentage points from June, when the last survey was carried out.

IATA’s latest research also reveals 67% of respondents feel that most country borders should be opened now, up 12 percentage points from its last survey.

Furthermore, 64% of respondents felt that border closures are unnecessary and have not been effective in containing the virus (up 11 percentage points from June).

Governments should bear the cost of testing according to 80% of people.

The research, among 4,700 people across 11 markets in September, shows 75% think the cost of testing is a significant barrier to travel and 77% see the inconvenience of testing as a barrier to travel.

“People are willing to be tested to travel. But they don’t like the cost or the inconvenience. Both can be addressed by governments,” said IATA Director-General Willie Walsh.

Among those who have travelled since June 2020, 86% felt safe on board flights because of the COVID-19 measures in place.

The biggest barrier to air travel continues to be quarantine measures, with 84% of respondents saying they won’t travel if there is a chance of quarantine at their destination.

A growing proportion of respondents support the removal of quarantine if a person has tested negative for COVID-19 (73% in September compared to 67% in June) and 71% support removing quarantine if a person has been vaccinated, compared to 68% in June.