Vaccination requirements are already widely used around the world, with many countries looking for travelers showing signs of yellow fever when they come from regions where the disease is prevalent.
Travelers will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to fly with Australia’s Qantas, says the company, the first major airline to suggest that such rules could be common across the industry.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said on Monday that an Australian flag bearer would use the initiative once a coronavirus vaccine was made available to the public.
Joyce predicted that the law could become a common practice around the world as governments and airlines now consider the introduction of electronic vaccines.
Some major regional airlines, however, said it was too early to comment on what the travel requirements might be once the vaccine became more widely available.
“We have no concrete plans to advertise this vaccine at this time because it is still developing and it will take time to distribute it,” a Korean Air spokesman told AFP.
Japan Airlines has also said it has “no plans to require international travelers to be vaccinated” and now wants “passengers to follow the rules of their destination, such as taking tests”.
Vaccination requirements are already widely used around the world, with many countries looking for travelers showing signs of yellow fever when they come from regions where the disease is prevalent.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced late Monday that it was “in the final stages” of creating a digital world in which it said it could be used to record Covid-19 tests or regulations and would “support the safe opening of borders”.
“We are bringing this to market in the coming months to meet the needs of various travel bubbles and public health tunnels starting to work,” said IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.
In the air
Australia’s borders have been successfully closed since March to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has already claimed more than a million lives worldwide.
The country has even reduced the number of its citizens allowed to return each week, leaving tens of thousands of Australians left overseas.
The global aviation industry has come under tremendous pressure from borders aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.
Qantas has landed more than 200 aircraft and laid off 8,500 workers as it seeks to end the US $ 1.9 billion losses caused by the need to fly.
The deaths of other carriers have fallen as a result of the epidemic, including Virgin Australia, Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM and Britain’s Flybe.
IATA said in October that after predicting a 66 per cent drop in international air traffic this year, airline revenue is expected to drop by 46 per cent by 2021 compared to 2019.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia wanted to create “travel bubbles” with other countries to stop the spread of the virus.
But the country is unlikely to be fully reopened for international travelers until the vaccine becomes widely available.
The government has also announced its recently released Covid-19 vaccine policy that Australia and other nations can provide proof of immunization as a condition of entry.
Australia has been relatively successful against coronavirus, recording more than 27,800 cases and 907 deaths since the outbreak began.