Qatar Airways CEO says Covid vaccines are likely to be needed for travel

The CEO of a Middle East flagship has said the requirement for vaccinations against Covid-19 is likely to be a trend in air travel as the industry tries to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the short term, yes, I think the vaccine passport will be useful in giving both governments and passengers in our industry the confidence to start traveling again,” Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker told CNBC’s Tuesday. Hadley Gamble.

When asked if vaccinations become a “necessity” for flying, Al Baker said, “I think this will be the trend initially, because the world must be open, people must have confidence in air travel.”

“I think this will be a trend that will take place until people are confident that there is a good cure or treatment for this very serious pandemic we are facing today,” he added.

The idea of ​​vaccination passports has been put forward by many governments and industries, with proponents saying it would make travel safer. However, critics argue that it could exacerbate inequality and access for people from countries further behind in their vaccination campaigns.

When asked who should conduct the vaccination passport process, the CEO said, “In my opinion it should be led by IATA (the International Air Transport Association) … I am confident that IATA will address the issues in the presence of industry.”

The conversation with Al Baker took place during the launch of Qatar Airways’ first fully Covid-19 vaccinated flight on an A350-1000.

The “flight to nowhere” will remain in Qatari skies and feature the company’s new hygiene and safety features, including “zero-touch” in-flight entertainment technology. It will only carry passengers and crew who have been vaccinated against the virus that rocked the world economy and bankrupted so many airlines in the past year.

The airline does not yet have any plans to require all passengers to be vaccinated.

After the Gulf states were hit by the fall in oil prices in the spring of 2020, crude oil has risen steadily due to a mix of supply and demand dynamics and long-term OPEC production cuts.

But Al Baker refuted the idea that his airline depends on the oil revenues that support the Gulf economies.

“We are a commercial entity, we run on the profitability of our passengers, our cargo that we carry, we do not rely on oil prices,” he said. “All we trust (is) that oil prices are at a reasonable level so it can contribute to our lowering operating costs.”

The international benchmark of Brent crude oil was trading at around $ 63 a barrel as of Tuesday morning London, 22% higher than last year, a level that the Qatar Airways CEO says is sustainable for the company.

“Oil prices are hovering around $ 60-65 dollars a barrel, I think it is reasonable for us to return to sustainable profitability,” he said.

Qatar Airways, like so many others, was hit hard as air travel nearly came to a halt in the early months of the pandemic.

Last year, it received a $ 2 billion bailout from its owner, the gas-rich Qatari state. The flagship of the small Gulf monarchy posted a record $ 1.9 billion loss for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, as a result of both the virus crisis and the then-blockade by a group of Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, which ended in January.

Al Baker said he is confident his airline will recover; Currently, it is rebuilding its network to operate more than 1,200 weekly flights to more than 140 destinations during the summer. Still, IATA doesn’t predict air travel will return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.