Has Qantas really opened up Flights from 1st July 2021?
News reports are showing that Qantas has re-opened its flight schedules, for almost all international Qantas flights, from 1st July 2021.
However, this might not be as clear cut as it seems.
The Federal Government, being critical of the Qantas plan, has said: “Decisions about when international travel resumes will be made by the Australian Government, and International borders will be opened when international arrivals do not pose a risk to Australians.”
Note: Friday, 12th February, 2021.
Due to the recent cluster of COVID-19 cases at a quarantine hotel:
- International arrivals to Victoria will be paused.
- Australian State borders to parts of Victoria are closing.
- All of Victoria will go into a lockdown for five days.
- Thousands of Queenslanders will be quarantined after a positive case visited Brisbane Airport.
Did someone mention “International borders will be opened when international arrivals do not pose a risk to Australians“.
Alan Joyce, the Qantas Group CEO, said that “for some of our big destination like the United States and the UK, it’s going to need a vaccine given the high prevalence of the virus in both of those locations.”
He mentions destinations, does that mean he plans more for outgoing flights, rather than incoming flight?
Vaccines may be compulsory for all flights.
In November 2020, there were reports that Alan Joyce stated that international travellers would need a COVID-19 vaccine to get on a Qantas flight.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says that Australia “is on track and ahead of schedule in its vaccine approvals process and now expects all Australians will be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 by October 2021“.
Maybe the Qantas chief is hoping that by July, many Australians and others in Australia, will be vaccinated against COVID, and be permitted to leave Australia again.
The Australian Federal government, not Qantas, will be making that decision at some stage.