Qantas says it will ban unvaccinated travelers from international flights

• The Qantas CEO said the airline would only let vaccinated people board international flights.
• The Australian airline already requires all employees to be fully vaccinated.

Qantas has confirmed plans to bar unvaccinated passengers from international flights when Australian travel restrictions lift.

"Qantas will have a policy that internationally we'll only be carrying vaccinated passengers," CEO Alan Joyce said Wednesday, according to Traveller.com.au.

"Because we think that's going to be one of the requirements to show that you're flying safe and getting into those countries. We're hoping that can happen by Christmas."

Australia's borders are currently fully closed, with exemptions given only to Australian citizens and permanent residents, and some other people who can prove their need to travel.

"We think everybody should be protecting themselves, but we also have a requirement to protect our colleagues and our passengers. And then there's also a requirement to protect the community," Joyce said.

It was not clear whether Qantas would require passengers on domestic flights to be vaccinated as well. The airline did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Qantas announced last month that it would require all its frontline employees, from cabin crew to airport workers, at both Qantas and its budget affiliate Jetstar to be fully vaccinated by November 15, with some medical exemptions given. All other employees will be required to get their vaccinations by March 31, 2022, it said.

The airline currently runs a COVID-19 vaccination scheme in which frequent flyers who are fully vaccinated can either get Australian dollars ($15) taken off their next Qantas or affiliate flight, or extra frequent-flyer points.