Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran says the airline is working with International Air Transport Association (IATA) as well as other airlines to decide the best way for passengers to prove their vaccination status when international borders reopen.
Over the weekend, the airline announced all travellers who fly internationally with it must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from February, 2022.
Speaking on The AM Show this morning, Foran said there is enough time between now and February for the airline, Government and the global industry to work out a compatible solution.
"At the moment, we have a card that we get, but obviously the plan is to move that to a digital solution," Foran said.
"The Government is working on something called the Travel Health Declaration, which will be required to be filled out. We're staying close to the industry body IATA, and they have something called the Travel Pass, so there'll be a combination of forms here that will be developed over the next four months to make it as seamless as possible."
When asked if, come February, passengers would be "in like cattle", or if there would be social distancing onboard, Foran said safety of passengers would come before anything else.
"Let's wait and see, and play this thing out and adopt what we think is the right practise to keep people safe," he said.
Foran wouldn't rule out pre-flight testing even on domestic flights.
"Let's just wait and see what happens. You know, we want to be quite thoughtful as we head down any approach that may eventuate with domestic.
"I'm very cognisant that there are parts of the country where the only airline that operates is Air New Zealand. So, you know, maybe there are alternatives around fast antigen testing, rapid antigen testing that need to be considered. But, you know, I think we should just be thoughtful and work through the domestic solution."
Foran had one final solid prediction for both domestic and international travel in the future.
"I certainly would encourage as many of our customers to get vaccinated. I think that is the right answer."
