Asia-Pacific carriers warm to mandatory passenger jabs

At least three Asia-Pacific carriers have made it compulsory for all travellers to be fully-vaccinated before flying, as the region moves towards post-pandemic reopening. The move to only welcome vaccinated travellers come as countries in the region ramp up inoculations. Air NZ on 3 October rolled out what it called its “no jab, no fly” passenger vaccination mandate, requiring all international passenger to be fully inoculated before being allowed to board one of its flights into the country. The requirement, which kicks in on 1 February 2022, comes as New Zealand shifts away from its “zero-Covid” strategy, which aimed to completely eliminate the coronavirus. The shortcomings of this strategy became apparent with the more infectious Delta variant. Justifying the move, airline chief Greg Foran says vaccinations are “the new reality of international travel”, as many of its key markets already require travellers to be inoculated before entering. “We’ve been hearing from both customers and employees that this measure is important to them. Mandating vaccination on our international flights will give both customers and employees the peace of mind that everyone onboard meets the same health requirements as they do.” <br/>