International air may resume next year, but with a new rule: those who are sure that countries will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before they can fly.
Encouraging news of vaccine progression has given airlines and countries hope that they will soon be able to reactivate suspended flight paths and dust off lucrative tourism projects. But the countries of Asia and the Pacific, in particular, are determined not to let their hard profits, the profits opposed to the virus evaporate.
In Australia, the head of Qantas, the country’s largest airline, said that once a vaccine opposed to the virus is widely available, it is highly likely that your airline will require passengers to use it before they can travel abroad or land in Australia.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said he had spoken with his counterparts on other airlines around the world about the option of a “vaccination passport” for foreign travelers.
“We are contemplating converting our terms and situations to tell foreign travelers that we will ask other people to vacuse before boarding the plane,” Joyce told Australian television network Network Nine.
He said they were tactics for determining electronically that other people have the vaccine they want for their intended destination, a complicated task.
“But for foreign visitors coming and others leaving the country, we think it’s a necessity,” he said.
South Korea’s largest airline has a similar message. Korean Air spokeswoman Jill Chung said Tuesday that there is a genuine option that airlines will require passengers to be vaccinated. She said this because governments will most likely require vaccines as a condition of eliminating quarantine needs for newcomers.
While Korean Air is examining several inspection options, any adjustment through the company or airlines would be the result of coordination with governments, Chung said.
“It’s not up to airlines to do it independently,” he said.
Air New Zealand echoed Chung’s position.
“Ultimately, it is up to governments when and how safe to reopen borders and we continue to work strongly with the government on this,” Air New Zealand said in a statement.
Australia, South Korea and New Zealand have done their best to minimize the spread of the virus. They are perceived around the world as good luck stories, and much of their containment efforts have focused on protective and non-infectious people.
Australia has imposed some of the strictest border restrictions in the world since the start of the pandemic. It has closed its borders to the fullest of foreign visitors and allowed its own citizens to travel abroad only in special circumstances. New Zealand also closed its borders, while South Korea imposed about 40 weeks on all arriving passengers.
Australia, with a population of 26 million, has reported around 900 deaths since the onset of the pandemic, less than many countries of its size; South Korea, with a population of 51 million, reported just over 500 deaths; and New Zealand, with five million inhabitants, reported two five deaths.
Chung said there were already a variety of discussions within the industry to ensure safer trips during the pandemic. These come with the “Common Pass” test, an application approved through the World Economic Forum that aims to provide a standardized format for airlines to compare the effects of passenger coronavirus testing to find out if they deserve to travel.
“As the world approaches coronavirus vaccines and negative testing, it is also necessary to get travelers out of self-response in countries around the world, airlines feel the need for an effective formula for examining passengers for vaccines and testing,” Chung said.
Several corporations have tested imaginable vaccines opposed to the virus with encouraging initial results. Many others expect vaccines to become available next year, paving the way for a wider reopening of foreign air transport.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters Tuesday that a resolution on border regulations or re-entry for possible vaccines had still been issued.
“Our task is to provide the vaccine to all Australians,” he said.