SYDNEY – Australia will likely require international arrivals to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face a prolonged quarantine, as officials sketch out what "new normal" virus restrictions may look like.
Although “no final decision” had been made on how to proceed when a vaccine becomes available, Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt suggested Tuesday that a vaccination or a strict two-week quarantine would be a condition for entry.
The comments came as Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said international travellers would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to fly with the Australian flag carrier.
“We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say for international travellers that we will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft,” he told Channel Nine television.
“Whether you need that domestically, we will have to see what happens.”
Health minister Hunt said: “We would expect that people coming to Australia whilst Covid-19 is a significant disease in the world will either be vaccinated or they will isolate.”
For eight months, Australia has had virtually closed off from the rest of the world, with a blanket ban on non-residents entering the country and citizens strongly advised against all foreign travel.
But with promising results in vaccine trials, Hunt suggested Australians may start receiving doses as early as March.
Joyce predicted the airline rule would likely become standard practice around the world.
Other major regional airlines, however, said it was too early to comment on what travel requirements might be when a vaccine becomes widely available.
“We don’t have any concrete plans to announce at this point on the vaccine as it is still in development and will take time to distribute,” a Korean Air representative told AFP.
Japan Airlines similarly said it had “no plans to require international travellers to have a vaccination”.
Vaccination entry requirements are already widely used around the world, with many countries demanding travellers show they have been inoculated against yellow fever if they are coming from regions where the disease is endemic.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced late Monday it was in the "final stages” of developing a digital health pass that it says can be used to record Covid-19 tests or vaccinations and will “support the safe reopening of borders”.
“We are bringing this to market in the coming months to also meet the needs of the various travel bubbles and public health corridors that are starting operation,” said the IATA director general.
The global airline industry has come under huge pressure from restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
Qantas has grounded more than 200 planes and laid off 8,500 staff as it attempts to offset a US$1.9 billion loss caused by the collapse in demand for air travel.
A slew of other carriers have collapsed because of the pandemic, including Virgin Australia, Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM and Britain's Flybe.
IATA said in October that after a predicted 66% drop in global air traffic this year, airlines' revenues are expected to be down by 46% in 2021 compared to 2019. –
AFP, November 24, 2020
