The government of Kenya is contemplating the need to have a COVID vaccine certificate before you travel in and out of the country over the next 12 months.
According to BlueBird Aviation, General Manager, Captain Hussein Mohammed, vaccinating more people will make it easier for airlines to operate since enough passengers will be free to travel.
“If most of the people were vaccinated it makes it easier for airlines because you have sufficient passenger load that is free to travel. The downside is adaptability of the COVID Vaccine passport worldwide,” said Captain Mohammed.
In addition, General Manager, Captain Hussein Mohammed noted that countries should work together to see to it that all airlines accept passengers who have COVID-ve test results.
He said: “We cannot act unilaterally. Kenya cannot say we require all passengers to have a COVID passport while Rwanda, UK or Australia doesn’t require it, then what we will have is that passengers will avoid your airline and go to an airline that will accept COVID-ve test results.”
It is important to note that developed nations like the US have made major strides in the fight against Covid-19. Statistics show that 70 per cent of adult population have received their first dose of the vaccination and close to 40 per cent of the population have fully been vaccinated.
Captain Hussein Mohammed also noted that it will be hard for countries in Africa to start using Covid Passport owing to low intake of vaccine.
“Here is a situation that will take 12 months or more for 70 per cent of adult population to be fully vaccinated. We have to be able to be comparable developed countries. Until we reach such a time we are comparable to these developed countries, honestly COVID Passport is not yet an option for most of Africa,”
The General Manager, Captain Hussein Mohammed envisions a situation where passengers will have to produce COVID certificates showing that they are fully vaccinated and also for those who are not, required to have COVID-ve results prior to boarding the flight.
“I see that for the next 12 months and probably beyond that there might be a consensus among people in the aviation industry worldwide agreeing on a specific COVID passport requirement for all travels,” said Captain Mohammed.