Many airlines companies across the globe, banking on the news that immunisation against COVID-19 virus will become a reality soon, are considering if vaccination for international passengers can be made compulsory.
One of the worst pandemic-hit sectors, the airlines industry, is still bound by various restrictions, especially regarding international travel. But the companies are also looking towards ways to boost business from the coming year.
Australia&rsquos leading airlines, Qantas, is one of the first airlines, which is thinking of making vaccination compulsory for passengers travelling on international flights, once the vaccine is widely available, reported the country&rsquos media recently.
According to latest reports, the head of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, urged governments to relax quarantine rules and borders bans in favour of testing but remained wary of the compulsory vaccination plan for international passengers. He was speaking at IATA&rsquos annual general meeting in Geneva.
Air New Zealand and Korean Air, according to media reports, appear partial to the idea of immunisation shots for international travellers but have said that relaxation of pandemic containment rules have to be determined by the governments.
According to IATA, air passenger traffic is not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2024, at the earliest.
At home, with some cities seeing a surge in the number of COVID-19 affected people, state governments too are reconsidering their rules to allow flights from these cities. The Maharashtra government has said that passengers flying to Mumbai from Delhi, from airports in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and Goa, have to carry COVID-negative reports. The Karnataka government too has made it compulsory (subject to some exceptions) for international visitors to stay in home quarantine for a fortnight if they do not carry any COVID negative certificate of a test conducted not more than 72 hours before taking the flight. West Bengal is allowing flights to operate on select days to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chennai.