Although Qantas has not formalised a policy relating to a COVID-19 vaccine requirement to fly with the airline, a recent statement that it published in support of the vaccine, which it described as “the key to restarting international travel” has been met with outrage by anti-vax travel agents who are now boycotting the airline.
“The Qantas Group takes the view that a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be the key to restarting international travel with most of the rest of the world. The only current alternative to this would seem to be an ongoing need for 14 days of quarantine – which puts huge limits on freedom of movement and is something our customers tell us they don’t want,” said the Qantas Group in a recent statement, which has proved to be very controversial.
“While the Australian government strongly supports immunisation and will run a strong campaign to encourage vaccination, it is not mandatory and individuals may choose not to vaccinate. There may however, be circumstances where the Australian government and other governments may introduce border entry or re-entry requirements that are conditional on proof of vaccination,” it added.
Qantas suggested that Australia would not be alone should it implement a vaccine requirement to cross borders, saying that other countries, and possibly airlines, were likely to implement similar policies, pointing out that vaccine travel requirements for yellow fever and polio had long been in place.
Because some people cannot be vaccinated, due to medical conditions, the airline’s stance made allowance for alternative measures for these people, which could include heightened testing, mask wearing and/or quarantine. Qantas added that there was also no suggestion that a vaccine would be required for domestic travel and said it would be unlikely to be implemented for travel between countries with which Australia might implement a ‘travel bubble’.
“The Qantas Group acknowledges that some people have concerns regarding vaccines. However, we believe we have a duty of care to everyone on board our aircraft to create a safe environment. All our policies are ultimately shaped by this. We don’t intend to formalise the detail of our vaccine requirement (including how long it might apply for) until a safe and effective one is well established, and only then, once international travel from Australia is ready to restart in earnest, which we are estimating will be between the middle to end of 2021.
Anti-vaxxers on the attack
Media, including social media, have been flooded with negative posts about the new COVID-19 vaccine from anti-vax groups. From high-profile claims here in South Africa as outrageous as “The vaccine should be burnt as it will infuse the recipient with the 666 mark of the devil”, to those who claim that vaccine recipients will be implanted with a tracking microchip, to clickbait headings that claim that vaccine triallists are dying. It requires some work to sort the real reports from the misinformation. And with all the misinformation out there, it is unsurprising that Qantas’s stance has raised the ire of anti-vax passengers and agents.
“We have made a company decision today not to sell any @Qantas flights, even on a codeshare, following its announcement of no vaccination, no flight. There are far superior airlines with flights to #Australia,” said UK-based Tradewinds Travel on Twitter.
On its website and in a later tweet, the agency, which describes itself as “pro-choice” rather than “anti-vax”, added that it would apply the same boycott criteria across the board for all airlines, claiming that it had had a “fantastic response” from 99,97% of people from both the UK and Australia, and that it hoped other travel companies would follow suit.
“We do not want to see the spread of COVID-19 anywhere in the world, but never before in the history of aviation has there been a requirement to have an injection before boarding a plane. If Australia as a nation makes the decision not to allow entry to people without a vaccination, then that is within their rights, and people can make an informed choice as to whether they wish to visit the country. But it is not up to an airline to enforce this upon customers,” said Tradewinds.
Asked if a vaccine requirement policy could speed up Qantas’s reintroduction of South Africa and other intercontinental routes, regional manager Africa, Michi Messner, told Travel News the reintroduction of the route was dependent on when Australia would open its borders for international travel to commence. She added that the opportunity to look at potential travel bubbles could speed up the reintroduction of some routes, citing as an example, the new agreement between New Zealand and Australia to allow quarantine-free travel from early 2021.
“Discussions are going on between the respective governments on the terms, and once these are in place airlines can schedule commercial services,” she explained.
