Qantas to resume flights to South Africa in November – looking at a ‘health pass’
Australian airline Qantas says it is planning to restart regular international passenger flights to most destinations from 31 October 2021 – an extension from the previous estimate of July.
The date change aligns with the expected timeframe for Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout to be effectively complete, the airline said.
“Capacity will be lower than pre-Covid levels, with frequencies and aircraft type deployed on each route in line with the projected recovery of international flying. International capacity is not expected to fully recover until 2024.
“The group remains in close consultation with the Federal Government around the reopening of international borders and will keep customers updated if further adjustments are required.
Qantas said it is assessing the use of digital health pass apps to help support the resumption of Covid-safe international travel. The CommonPass and IATA Travel Pass smartphone apps are being trialled on the airline’s international repatriation flights.
The airline said it is planning to resume flights to 22 of its 25 pre-Covid international destinations including Los Angeles, London, Singapore and Johannesburg from 31 October 2021.
Qantas said it won’t initially resume direct flights to New York, Santiago and Osaka, but remains committed to flying to these three destinations.
“In the meantime, customers will be able to fly to these destinations under codeshare or oneworld arrangements with partner airlines.”
Health pass
At the end of 2020, global airline lobby International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it is working on a mobile app that will help travellers demonstrate their coronavirus-free status.
This comes as part of a push to introduce so-called Covid passports to speed up the revival of international travel.
The travel pass will display test results together with proof of inoculation, as well as listing national entry rules and details on the nearest labs, said IATA.
The app will also link to an electronic copy of the holder’s passport to prove their identity.
A test program will begin with British Airways parent IAG SA this year before arriving on Apple devices in the first quarter of 2021 and Android from April, IATA said.
Travellers will be able to share their status with border authorities or present a QR code for scanning.
Read: New Zealand will stop processing immigration visas in South Africa next month
Loading ...