- The CEO of Qantas has warned passengers will not be allowed to travel on the company’s international flights unless they’ve had a COVID-19 vaccine
- Alan Joyce said the Australian airliner would be changing its terms and conditions to require all passengers to receive the vaccine
- He added the rule will apply to all of their customers around the globe, once the COVID-19 vaccines become readily available
- Currently, almost all international flights out of Australia have been grounded due to the Federal Government’s border closure rules
- Its hoped with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the border will be dropped and international travel will be able to resume
Australians looking to head overseas in the coming year will have no choice but to be immunised against COVID-19, according to the head of Qantas.
CEO Alan Joyce has warned passengers will not be allowed to travel on the company’s international flights unless they’ve had a COVID-19 vaccine.
In an interview with Nine, the leader of the Australian airline said he will change the company’s terms and conditions for flying to implement the new rule.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has warned future international travel will require compulsory vaccinations. #9ACA https://t.co/JNZyjJ1ZL3
— A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) November 23, 2020
“For international travellers, we will ask people to have a vaccination before they get on the aircraft,” Alan explained.
“Certainly, for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity,” he added.
The Qantas CEO added that the rule wouldn’t just apply to Australian travellers, but to anyone flying internationally on its planes.
Joyce said he expects other airlines to bring in similar rules, once COVID-19 vaccines are readily available.
“I think that’s going to be a common thing talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe,” he said.
Currently, almost all international flights out of Australia have been grounded due to the Federal Government’s border closure rules, which require all incoming passenger to undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the restrictions on international travel back in mid-March, when COVID-19 began rapidly spreading across the globe.
The restrictions are still in place today — along with a cap on the number of people allowed to arrive in Australia each week — with the rules unlikely to drop until a vaccine is rolled out.
Overnight, one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers revealed its immunisation has been proven to be up to 90 per cent effective, a positive result for the late-stage testing.
Australia has signed a deal to manufacture 30 million doses of this vaccine as well as several other immunisation options, however, they’re all unlikely to be ready to be deployed until early next year.