The airlines are currently working on making traveling as safe as possible again. The approaches differ. While many airlines rely on rapid tests, others are considering whether the introduction of mandatory vaccination might not be a better alternative.
The head of the Australian airline Qantas, Alan Joyce, spoke in the domestic media months ago about only allowing vaccinated passengers on board. In view of the drastic situation, this step is a “necessity”. It is not surprising that such statements come from this direction. Because in the meantime there has been a debate in Australia about a general vaccination requirement - at least for certain groups of people this should apply in the future. In Germany, Health Minister Jens Spahn emphasizes again and again: "I give you my word: there will be no compulsory vaccination in this pandemic."
Not like in most European countries. Even the AUA parent company Lufthansa would not think of making a vaccination mandatory, as a spokesman told the Spiegel approved. Instead, the crane airline is testing so-called "corona-free" flights. An antigen test swab is taken from volunteers shortly before departure. Only those who tested negative are allowed into the machine. The pilot project has already been used on the Munich-Hamburg route to this day. Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian also tried this between Vienna and Berlin, Alitalia similarly between Rome and Milan. In addition to practicing the procedures, such projects should show passengers and governments that flying can theoretically be safe again and that quarantine rules should be reconsidered.