By Allison Lampert (Reuters) - While politicians hail digital health passes as the solution to aviation s COVID-19 crisis, airline bosses are still having sleepless nights about clogged up airports as they worry how to deal with the millions who have already been vaccinated. More than 220 million people have been fully vaccinated against the disease, according to Our World in Data. Almost a billion have had at least one dose. (https://bit.ly/32HJtHQ) But many were given shots before the development of new user-friendly, digital health passes, raising uncertainty over the status of millions of certificates issued beforehand, and industry fears of a paper trail that could gum up airports. As governments begin to amend travel restrictions for vaccinated travelers, it is essential that they provide clear guidance on the acceptance of paper certificates, the group representing global airlines told Reuters in a statement. The International Air Transport Association - which contains 290 airli
While politicians hail digital health passes as the solution to aviation’s COVID-19 crisis, airline bosses are still having sleepless nights about clogged up…
Updated / Wednesday, 14 Apr 2021
07:18
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline plans to fly 80% of its pre-pandemic domestic capacity in the quarter ending June 30
Australia s Qantas Airways has seen domestic leisure travel rebound to pre-pandemic levels, but demand in the corporate travel market is lagging about three months behind, its chief executive said.
The airline plans to fly 80% of its pre-pandemic domestic capacity in the quarter ending June 30.
This will allow it to generate cash for the first time in several quarters, Alan Joyce told a CAPA Centre for Aviation event today.
Much of the Australian domestic business travel market is linked to areas such as transporting mining workers, government travel and essential construction and manufacturing travel that are proving resilient, Joyce said.
Those stocks rose as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the travel bubble between her country and Australia will begin April 19.
Meanwhile, Singapore s aviation regulator said beginning in May the country will start accepting travelers who use the International Air Transport Association (IATA) mobile travel pass for pre-departure checks. Shares of Singapore Airlines were 0.72% higher, as of 3:48 p.m. Singapore time on Tuesday. Having the confidence of an aviation leader like Singapore in IATA Travel Pass is hugely significant, Willie Walsh, director general at IATA, said in a statement. Ongoing trials put us on track for IATA Travel Pass to be a critical tool for the industry s restart by delivering verified travel health credentials to governments. And travellers can have complete confidence that their personal data is secure and under their own control, Walsh said.