Loads of people are threatening to boycott Qantas over its controversial decision to not allow passengers to fly if they haven't been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The flying kangaroo's boss, Alan Joyce, said people will have to prove they've had the jab, otherwise they can find another airline to fly on. That rule will apply to international routes and will be non-negotiable.
That's prompted a furious reaction from people in Australia, with many saying they will never fly with Qantas again if the rule is enforced when travel is allowed to resume.
Advert
Holiday provider Tradewinds Travel has already announced it will no longer provide customers with deals or flight information for Qantas.
Writing on Twitter, the company said: "We have made a company decision today to not sell any @Qantas flights, even on a code share, following their announcement of no vaccination, no flight. There are far superior airlines with flights to Australia.
"Thank you everyone for your comments and support. We will apply the same criteria across the board for all airlines. We will be reopening fully for reservations from 1st Jan for travel from 1st Apr."
Advert
Others flocked to social media to cry out about the policy.
One woman wrote: "I've never used the phrase #boycott but then I've never felt so strongly about the current situation, to quantify how I feel I need more letters so I will just leave this here #boycottqantas thanks for helping me to decide never to fly with you."
Another added: "It's not everyday you achieve business suicide with making known your intentions to enforce a harmful untested vaccine on those wanting to use your service."
A third said: "I've never flown with them and definitely wont be in the future. I'm not an anti-vaxx in any way but I am also not prepared to be forced to have something injected into my body."
But these people might be waging a war they won't be able to win.
Advert
Alan Joyce believes other airlines will soon announce similar policies and they will also be non-negotiable.
He told A Current Affair: "I think that's going to be a common thing talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe."
If a coronavirus vaccine is successful, Joyce has stated he expects to see international travel return to something approximating normal by the end of 2021, but added that the state of growth of the virus elsewhere makes that difficult right now.
He explained: "Unfortunately with the levels of the virus in the United States and in Europe, we're not going to see operations to those destinations in any real strength until we see a vaccine being rolled out, which is likely towards the end of 2021,"
Advert
Domestic flights have now resumed between Melbourne and Sydney as travel between New South Wales and Victoria has opened up again. That could mean that Qantas can operate at around 60 percent of usual business by Christmas.
Featured Image Credit: PA
