Passengers on long-haul flights may need to prove they are Covid-safe before they are able to fly, an airline industry chief warned.
Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said he did not want to introduce the system, which would add another hurdle to travelling at a time when few people are flying, but he accepted it might be needed.
Since coronavirus spread around the globe, the airline, travel and tourism industries have been battered by the lockdowns and social distancing that are vital to trying to curb the disease.
Airlines and plane-makers have seen profits slump and tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs.
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Resident Maria receives a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a care home in Puurs, Belgium as the country starts its national vaccination campaign. AFP -
Nurses vaccinate Leon T, aged 80, as he becomes the first person in Geneva to receive the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in Switzerland. AP Photo -
A nurse administers the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Podhale Specialist Hospital of John Paul II in Nowy Targ, south Poland. EPA -
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the capital Nicosia. Reuters -
Josepha Delmotte, 102, receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a care home in Mons, Belgium. AFP -
Jos Hermans, 96, who is the first to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, waves to journalists in Puurs, Belgium. AFP -
Staff pull boxes of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to be delivered to several care homes in Leuven, Belgium. AFP -
Staff members applaud as vials of the Covid-19 vaccine are delivered to the La Bonne Maison de Bouzanton care home in Mons, Belgium. Reuters -
Lucie Danjou, 101, receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the Notre-Dame hospital in Brussels, Belgium. AFP -
Jacques Collineau, 75, receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Joue-les-Tours, France. AFP
Mr Spohr said Covid tests and vaccinations could get people flying again and help travellers to feel safe.
"Personally, I assume that in the future every passenger on certain intercontinental routes will be either tested or vaccinated," Mr Spohr said.
Lufthansa will first increase the number of routes that have rapid Covid testing facilities.
"In the second phase, there will probably be an option between a test or proof of vaccination," he said.
He said Lufthansa did not want to make it compulsory for passengers to have either proof of vaccination or a Covid test confirming they are healthy. "As an airline, we neither can nor want to stipulate that," he said.
He added that a vaccine certificate would become superfluous once widespread immunity and vaccinations have been achieved.
Lufthansa needed a multi-billion-euro rescue package and its sales dropped by two-thirds in 2020.
The German airline announced another package of restructuring measures in July, including a 20 per cent cut in leadership positions and the reduction of 1,000 administrative jobs, as it battles with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline said it would also cut investment planned for new aircraft by half, with its financial plan allowing for up to 80 new aircraft for the group's fleet up to 2023.
Elsewhere, British Airways has axed services to more than 15 long-haul destinations, including Abu Dhabi, in 2021, as the carrier struggles to recoup losses sustained by the collapse in air travel caused by the pandemic.
Other Middle Eastern destinations affected by BA's pared back operations include Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Muscat, Oman.
"We are sorry that, like other airlines, due to the current coronavirus pandemic and global travel restrictions we are operating a reduced and dynamic schedule," BA said.
BA posted a £4 billion ($5.42bn) loss for the first half of this year and made about 10,000 staff redundant in the summer.
