Qantas boss Alan Joyce has reiterated the carrier’s plan to require passengers to be vaccinated against Covid-19, if and when it resumes operations later this year.
In November, Qantas chief executive Joyce said the airline would look at changing its terms and conditions for international travellers to insist on vaccination.
Speaking to the BBC at the weekend, Joyce said he believed many governments were likely to make vaccination a condition of entry, and where they don’t, he said airlines should enforce their own policies on vaccination.
"We have a duty of care to our passengers and to our crew to say everybody in that aircraft needs to be safe," he said, claiming 90% of people surveyed by Qantas believe vaccination should be a requirement for international travel.
Qantas is among a number of airlines trialling digital health passes, with the Australian carrier exploring the use of the World Economic Forum’s CommonPass app.
CommonPass, along with Iata’s Travel Pass, allow passengers to verify certification of them having been vaccinated, or tested negative for Covid-19 pre-travel.
Group chief customer officer Stephanie Tully said: "Covid test results and proof of vaccine will be required in many countries for quarantine-free travel, just as it has been for polio and yellow fever vaccinations in the past."
Joyce told the BBC that even with vaccination and borders reopening, it was important to remember Covid would continue to circulate.
"We need people to understand they can’t have zero risk with this virus," he said, adding: "We manage risk in so many different ways for other parts of life."
Last month, Qantas said it hoped to restart regular flights to "most" of its international destinations, including London, from 31 October – four months later than its initial July ambition.
Then, the airline said the new date would align with Australia’s hopes to complete its Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.