With Qantas and Air Nz recently introducing 'no jab, no fly' policies, Kiwi and Aussie travellers will need to prepare for an alternative way of travel when the borders open.
As Nz and australia prepare to spread out their borders, new rules around vaccination and international airline travel are going to be introduced by the countries’ major airlines.
After an 18-month ban, Australia will start reopening its borders immediately of November 2022, Pm Scott Morrison announced in early October. The international border will reopen for Australian states which have reached 80 per cent vaccination, starting with Nsw.
New Zealand, currently dealing with the Delta outbreak, is yet to set to begin dating ? for your reopening in the border. Noisy . August, the federal government announced a staged border reopening starting in early 2022, that will group travellers into low, medium and risk.
What will be the latest rules around airline travel for brand spanking new Zealand and Australian airlines?
On 3 October, Air New Zealand announced they will be introducing a ‘no jab, no fly’ insurance plan for international travellers. All passengers and staff travelling within their international network is going to be necessary to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Mandating vaccination on our international flights can provide both customers and employees the peace of mind that everybody onboard meets the identical health requirements because they do,” said Air New Zealand’s CEO Greg Foran inside a statement.
Qantas Group, including Jetstar, in addition has announced a ‘no jab, no fly’ policy, requiring all passengers and staff flying overseas to become vaccinated against Covid-19.
Virgin Australia has yet introducing a vaccination requirement of passengers, and can require all staff to be vaccinated by 15 November 2022.
When will it come into effect?
Air New Zealand’s vaccination policy can come into effect from February 2022. Qantas’ vaccination policy may come into effect from 14 November 2022.
How will this be managed?
Both Air Nz and Qantas have said they will be while using International Air Transport Associations (IATA) Travel Pass app for managing the vaccination policy. The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that enables people to store and manage their verified certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccines.
To protect passenger data privacy, the Travel Pass app doesn't have central database, meaning passengers have discretion about whether they share their data or otherwise, and may delete the information anytime using the knowledge it won’t be stored.
Other airlines which are trialling the IATA Travel Pass app include Qatar Airways, Emirates, British Airways, Air France and Singapore Airlines.
The app will likely be associated with Nz and Australia’s official vaccine certificates, that are being presented in countries within the coming weeks.
Who will it apply to?
Air New Zealand’s vaccination policy pertains to passengers aged 18 and also over, who're arriving or departing Nz on their airline. Those who need to travel internationally using the airline who haven’t been vaccinated will have to provide proof of medical exemptions because of not vaccinated.
Qantas are finalising specifics of the minimum age for vaccinated traveller. At this stage, the airline says “Australian citizens and permanent residents who cannot be vaccinated – for instance if they're under 12 and have a medical problem – will probably be treated as vaccinated for that purpose of their travel.”
What about domestic travel?
Neither Air Nz nor Qantas have said they'll mandate vaccinations for domestic passengers.
“We have a large amount of logistical along with other issues to solve on domestic and that we need to figure many of the logistical issues for this and we haven't made any decisions by yet,” said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.
