Jab passports are ‘inevitable’
THE boss of Gatwick Airport fears that vaccine passports may be the only route to aviation industry take-off.
Suggesting the introduction could be “inevitable”, Stewart Wingate added: “If this is the case, it is important that it minimises the need for cost-prohibitive testing and disruptive quarantine measures.”
His comment comes as a debate rages over whether the passports – to prove that someone has been fully inoculated – are really necessary.
As well as flying, they could theoretically allow people to go to the pub or watch live sports, if venues demand one.
But British Airways owner International Airlines Group is backing the alternative option of a health certificate. This could be an app that shows whether someone has been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19.
BA boss Sean Doyle said: “It will depend on the country to which people are flying and what the regulations are.”
IAG’s stance came as the company revealed it plunged £6.8billion into the red last year, from a near £2billion profit in 2019.
The group, which also owns Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, is reeling from a collapse in passenger numbers because of coronavirus.
Of its 533 aircraft, 241 are grounded which – along with ditching older planes – cost £727million last year.
The group has slashed costs, including 10,000 BA staff – one in four of the carrier’s workforce – but is still burning through £160million per week.
However, it has raised fresh funds and postponed payments into its pension scheme. As a result, it has nearly £9billion of “liquidity”.
Luis Gallego, IAG’s chief executive, insisted: “This is higher than at the start of the pandemic.”
But while IAG’s passenger numbers have plummeted, turnover from flying cargo surged from £173million to £1.1billion last year.