Australian airline Qantas has announced that passengers will need to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to board in future.
‘We will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft,’ Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said according to BBC. ‘I think that’s going to be a common thing, talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe,’ he added.
Qantas is the first airline to announce it will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination in future.
This regulation will apply specifically to international travellers, and Joyce has yet to confirm whether domestic travellers will be subject to the rule too.
‘Whether you need that domestically, we’ll have to see what happens with COVID-19 in the market, but certainly for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country, we think that’s a necessity,’ Joyce continued.
Airline lobby group Airlines of Europe agreed that many health-related policy revisions are likely to take place and that stringent measures will be needed in the future.
However, they added that airlines cannot ‘afford to wait’ for a vaccine. ‘At this stage, our main priority is the adoption of a common testing protocol and the recognition of test standards and measures for travel both in Europe and across the globe,’ the group said according to People.
The prospects of a successful COVID-19 vaccine has proven to inspire traveller confidence, as research by different online booking platforms have shown a surge in travel searches after news of high vaccine efficacy rates was announced.
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Picture: Facebook/Qantas
