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Proof of coronavirus vaccination will be requirement for international air travel, says Qantas CEO

Watch: Qantas to require COVID vaccine for overseas flights

The CEO of Australian airline Qantas has said that proof of Covid-19 vaccination will be a condition of international travel.

Alana Joyce added that he believes the requirement will become common around the world.

The Sydney-to-Melbourne is the world's second-busiest air route and Australian lawmakers are keen to revive domestic travel and tourism in a bid to revive the ailing economy.

However, international travel remains tricky - with many countries imposing mandatory quarantines on tourists.

One possible solution could be vaccination, and Mr Joyce supported the idea of making it a requirement for air travel.

Mr Joyce told news.com.au: “For international travellers, we will ask people to have a vaccination before they get on the aircraft."

<p>Qantas’ CEO said vaccination would be mandatory for international travel</p> (Getty Images)

Qantas’ CEO said vaccination would be mandatory for international travel

(Getty Images)

“Certainly, for international visitors coming out and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity.”

He added that he expects a vaccination requirement for international air travel to become common around the world.

“I think that’s going to be a common thing talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe", he said.

Australia also hopes to restart international travel with flights to New Zealand in the works.

While New Zealand citizens can now travel to Victoria without quarantining, a reciprocal agreement is still some way off. New Zealand says Australians will remain barred until the entire country has gone at least 28 days without a single Covid-19 case.

Australia's economy shrank 7 per cent in the three months that ended in June, the most since records began in 1959, while the unemployment rate hit a 22-year high of 7.5 per cent in July.

Watch: What is long COVID?

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