Lufthansa CEO sees airline passengers requiring health checks before flights

Passengers on long-haul flights may need to prove they are Covid-safe before they are able to fly, an airline industry chief warned. Lufthansa CE Carsten Spohr said he did not want to introduce the system, which would add another hurdle to travelling at a time when few people are flying, but he accepted it might be needed. Since coronavirus spread around the globe, the airline, travel and tourism industries have been battered by the lockdowns and social distancing that are vital to trying to curb the disease. Airlines and plane-makers have seen profits slump and tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs Spohr said Covid tests and vaccinations could get people flying again and help travellers to feel safe. "Personally, I assume that in the future every passenger on certain intercontinental routes will be either tested or vaccinated," Spohr said. Lufthansa will first increase the number of routes that have rapid Covid testing facilities. "In the second phase, there will probably be an option between a test or proof of vaccination," he said. He said Lufthansa did not want to make it compulsory for passengers to have either proof of vaccination or a Covid test confirming they are healthy. "As an airline, we neither can nor want to stipulate that," he said.<br/>