Qantas passengers to have four Covid tests

AUSTRALIANS boarding Qantas flights to overseas destinations such as the US and Britain will undergo a minimum of four Covid tests and be required to carry digital proof of vaccination.

Speaking in Boston where airline chiefs have gathered for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce provided more details of how overseas travel will look when flights resume next month.

Mr Joyce said Qantas was continuing to work with IATA on the technology for a digital travel pass, to make the experience as automated as possible.

At the behest of government, passengers would be required to have a Covid test before departure in Australia, and again before their return flight, as well as two more tests during their seven days of home quarantine.

Mr Joyce stressed Qantas did not believe seven days of quarantine was sustainable and hoped to see that reduced “quite rapidly” to 72 hours and then removed entirely.

He said until that occurred overseas tourists and business travellers were unlikely to come to Australia.

“If the virus is circulating in Victoria and NSW when the borders open up and the lockdowns have ended, then there’s no more risk from a person coming in from the UK and the US,” Mr Joyce said.

There would be checks by both Qantas and Australian Border Force to verify whether a person boarding a flight in London or Los Angeles was vaccinated, had tested negative to Covid, and had a home in which to quarantine.

If a passenger tested positive to Covid-19 before their return flight, it was likely they would have to remain overseas until they were clear of the virus.

Mr Joyce said an app was in development to ensure the home quarantine requirement was fulfilled, using geolocation and facial recognition technology.

“There is a level of trust with this and people who do this will have to follow the rules,” he said.

“There will still be border checks when people get in and there will be requirements on people to tell the truth because they are legal documents.”

Despite the new protocols, Mr Joyce said the response to the first overseas flights on sale in November had been overwhelming, prompting Qantas to add more services.

“The planned restart has been made possible by the amazing ramp-up of the vaccination rollout,” Mr Joyce said.

There is also strong interest in Virgin Australia’s first international flights to Fiji, scheduled to start on December 23. Covid requirements are likely to be the same as Qantas.