COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Required To Fly, Says Airline CEO

The head of Australian airline company Qantas has said that those who want to fly with them will need to provide proof that they’ve been injected with the coronavirus vaccine before boarding one of their planes when it becomes available to the world.

CEO Alan Joyce says that proof of vaccination may be a general requirement of many airlines as the world returns back to normal.

He has previously said that flights will not resume until a vaccine becomes widely available, but now went beyond to say that it will be mandatory for people who wish to fly.

In a Monday interview with A Current Affair, Joyce said:

“We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say that, for international travellers, we will ask people to have a vaccination before they get on the aircraft.

Whether you need that domestically, we will have to see with COVID-19 and the market but certainly, for international visitors coming out [of Australia] and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity.”

And while some people who are against the vaccine might think they’ll just choose another airline, the CEO believes that this rule will be applied by every airline company. 

“I think that’s going to be a common thing talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe,” he added.

Should the vaccine be a success, Joyce has said that he expects international travel to get back to normal by the end of next year, but added that the growing number of infections around the world would make it difficult.

“Unfortunately with the levels of the virus in the United States and in Europe, we’re not going to see operations to those destinations in any real strength until we see a vaccine being rolled out, which is likely towards the end of 2021,” he explained.

Nevertheless, domestic flights have now resumed between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne as well as Victoria and New South Wales. 

Projections are that Qantas will be able to operate at 60% by Christmas.

The rest of the world will have to wait a bit longer.

What are your thoughts on this worrying news? Let us know by joining the conversation in the comments and please share this article if you’ve found it informative. 

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

buy metronidazole online