Qantas to Ban Unvaccinated Passengers As it Gears Resumption of International Flights

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce confirmed that the airline will ban unvaccinated passengers for international flights, as the airline gears up to resume international flights by December.

While speaking at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle on Tuesday, the Qantas CEO said that “Qantas will have a policy that internationally we’ll only be carrying vaccinated passengers”.

He added that “Because we think that’s going to be one of the requirements to show that you’re flying safe and getting into those countries”.

This was a long time coming for Qantas. Joyce first mentioned the “no jab, no fly” policy in July 2021. The airline also said that it’s going to mirror requirements in Israel, Iceland, and European countries. At that time, he said that “Internationally we absolutely will (mandate vaccines) and that’s becoming a standard around the world”.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that the state will allow domestic and regional travel once there is a 70% vaccination rate. On the other hand, international flights will resume once vaccination rate reached 80%. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed with the Berejiklian’s plan.

Qantas Flights to the US, Japan, and The UK by December

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announced last month that the carrier is going to return international flights to certain countries by mid-December. This plan was based on the Federal Government’s vaccination rate estimate. Among countries included are Japan, Singapore, the US, and the UK.

Aside from their announcement to ban unvaccinated passengers, the airline will have a vaccine mandate on its employees. Its frontline staff including their cabin crew, pilots, and airport workers will need to be fully vaccinated by November 15. The remaining employees will need to be vaccinated by the end of March 2022.

However, the airline hasn’t made a decision yet if they are also going to mandate vaccinations for domestic passengers. Some states in Australia are already implementing domestic requirements. According to Joyce, “we have a lot of logistical and other issues to resolve on domestic”.