Covid: Vaccination will be required to fly, says Qantas chief

 

International air travellers will in future need to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to board Qantas flights, the airline says.

The Australian flag carrier's boss, Alan Joyce, said the move would be "a necessity" when vaccines are available.

"I think that's going to be a common thing talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe," he said.

 

 

Australia shut down its international borders early in the pandemic and required those returning to quarantine.

The country has more recently relied on lockdowns, widespread testing and aggressive contact tracing to push daily infections nationwide close to zero.

In an interview with Australia's Nine Network on Monday, Mr Joyce said Qantas was looking at ways of changing its terms and conditions for international travellers as the industry, which has been hit hard by travel restrictions, looks at ways of moving forward.

"We will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft... for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country we think that's a necessity," he told the broadcaster.

 

 

In August, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was likely that any successful vaccine would become "as mandatory as you could possibly make it".

"There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that should be the only basis," he told radio station 3AW.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55048438