Air NZ adds ‘no jab, no fly’ policy
Air New Zealand will require international travellers to be vaccinated when flying with the carrier starting from Feb 1, the latest airline to stipulate mandatory jabs for not just crew but passengers also.
“All travellers aged 18 and above that arrive or depart New Zealand have to be vaccinated and those who haven’t been inoculated need to present proof that vaccination for them wasn’t a viable option due to health reasons,’’ Air New Zealand said in a statement on its website.
The carrier will roll out the International Air Transport Association Travel Pass to ensure these requirements are met.
“We’ve been hearing from both customers and employees that this measure is important to them,” Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said. “The quicker we get vaccinated, the sooner we can fly Kiwis to places like New York, Vancouver and Narita.”
Air New Zealand’s announcement follows a similar move by Qantas Airways, whose CEO Alan Joyce said last month it would only carry inoculated passengers on overseas flights.
Australia’s flag carrier plans to resume international flights from November, starting with three weekly return flights between Sydney and London and three weekly return flights between Sydney and Los Angeles on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Several other airlines have either strongly encouraged or insisted staff get vaccinated, but few have mandated passengers must also be inoculated. Even so, that does seem to be the way things are heading considering the stance of a growing number of countries.
The United States has said most foreign air travellers will be allowed in, so long as they’re fully vaccinated, while Canada stated in August it would make Covid vaccines mandatory for airline and rail passengers.
Singapore, which has started a travel lane with Germany and Brunei that allows visitors who are fully inoculated to come to the island city without having to quarantine, said over the weekend that all work pass holders must be vaccinated before entering the country from Nov 1.