Qantas scraps vaccination mandate for passengers on international flights

The shift follows the Australian government’s decision earlier this month to drop the requirement for all nonresident travellers.

A Qantas plane lands at Brisbane Airport. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Qantas is scrapping the requirement for all international passengers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 from the July 19.

The move follows the Australian government’s decision earlier this month to drop the requirement for all nonresident travellers to either be vaccinated or seek an exemption to enter the country.

Qantas was one of the last remaining airlines to insist on vaccinations, with most having dropped this requirement earlier this year, if they had a policy in place at all.

Australia’s biggest airline said it would continue to require that passengers wear masks onboard, in line with government requirements, including on domestic flights.

“From Tuesday 19 July 2022 the Qantas Group will no longer require passengers on international flights operated by the Qantas Group to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The airline warned that some countries still required passengers to be vaccinated to either enter or transit through their airports and said passengers should confirm those rules.

“Vaccination against Covid-19 may still be required by certain countries, so passengers should check the requirements of the country they are travelling to.

“Additionally, masks will continue to be required where government regulations stipulate they must be worn, including on board domestic flights in Australia.”

The news comes as the number of deaths from Covid-19 rose to 10,385 as at Tuesday. Across the world case numbers are on the rise due to the most transmissible Omicron variant, BA 5.

However exhaustion from lockdowns and mask wearing has led to most countries relaxing their rules around the pandemic.

Originally published as Qantas scraps vaccination mandate for passengers on international flights