Australia’s major airline, Qantas has mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for passengers that wish to fly internationally

Qantas will require that all passengers on international flights be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus when it restarts worldwide operations in December.

Chief Executive Alan Joyce confirmed the move, making it one of the first airlines in the world to require proof of vaccination for everyone on board.

Joyce made the announcement in an interview with the Trans-Tasman Business Circle, a network for business and industry leaders in Australia and New Zealand.

The Qantas boss noted that many countries will require arriving travelers to be vaccinated anyway, as part of entry requirements.

Alan Joyce stated that he hoped the policy would be in place “by Christmas”

Alan Joyce also indicated that the airline is hoping vaccinated Australians can undergo home quarantine upon return from overseas, rather than being put into a hotel isolation for two weeks.

“When you vaccinate people, you will probably be able to enter into a lot of these countries,” he said.

Qantas, headquartered in Sydney Australia, suspended international operations during the pandemic — but did resume flights to New Zealand in April this year before suspending them again on July 31.

The airline plans to restart flights internationally in December 2021 

According to CNN, Joyce said in November of last year that he was considering banning unvaccinated travelers on international flights, but did not offer a timeline.

Joyce’s latest comments mean the airline has become one of the first airlines to require that international passengers be vaccinated against COVID-19.