Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr assumes that in the future proof of a vaccination against Covid-19 or a negative test result will be necessary on long-haul routes. However, this is not what the airline wants to prescribe, but the head of Germany's largest airline suspects that this will result from future entry regulations.
“Personally, I assume that every passenger on intercontinental flights on certain routes will be tested or vaccinated in the future,” Spohr told Welt am Sonntag. First of all, the number of routes on which a mandatory rapid antigen test must be completed before departure is to increase. Spohr did not name specific destinations, but the United States of America is a very hot candidate, as Delta, for example, is already testing this method on some routes. The negative rapid test should then bring easier entry for both sides. In Germany, however, this is likely to be a rocky road, because the government is resisting rapid antigen tests in travel.
In a second phase - according to Spohr - there would be a choice between testing, vaccination or antibody detection. As an airline, however, you don't want to make vaccinations compulsory. Nevertheless, this could result indirectly, because it is to be expected that various states will only allow entry if a vaccination against Covid-19 is made credible. The state requirements could then stipulate that passengers who cannot prove this may not be carried. Thus - analogous to the “Visa check” - it could be the case that a vaccination certificate or card has to be presented at check-in or at the gate. If you cannot do that, you could be excluded from transport, just as if the visa is missing in your passport in a long country that requires a visa.
In the long term, Carsten Spohr expects that when the world population is sufficiently immunized, the obligation to submit vaccination or test certificates will no longer apply. As an airline, you don't want to make transport dependent on the vaccination card, the Lufthansa boss assures Welt am Sonntag.
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