Dear Air New Zealand,

We are you. We are your customers (some of us your frequent travellers of “elite” status, some of us occasional travellers), and employees, or just simply people who know that it is time to make a change. Some of us are vaccinated, some boosted, some without any of the vaccinations but we all know it is time for you to end this punitive policy in place.

Air New Zealand is in the minority with requiring vaccination to fly internationally, with many airlines (BA, American, Delta, Singapore to name a few), all no longer requiring a vaccine to board international flights depending on the country of entry requirements. Here is a list of country requirements, many not requiring vaccination, and many of which you serve direct from NZ. The United Arab Emirates is the most vaccinated country in the world, at 99%, according to Our World in Data, and with a significantly higher death toll than NZ, and  yet their national airline does not require vaccines to travel with them. 

We all know many people who currently have, or have had Covid, either here in Aotearoa NZ, or overseas, and at this stage, we can all agree, that the science doesn’t support mandated vaccinations on international flights. Looking at the data, we are aware that the vaccines do not stop the transmission of the mostly prevalent Omicron variant  and that the booster isn’t effective either at stopping Omicron.  

Even the CDC says “anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms and our news media here in Aotearoa agrees.

So, we your customers ask, what is the purpose of requiring vaccinations for international travel, or favouring them for domestic travel?

At this stage, your policy is harmful and frankly, punitive to everyday New Zealanders and their loved ones.

Why stop those few unvaccinated friends and family from reconnecting with their loved ones after such a hard couple of years? This includes kiwis who have friends and family overseas who would like to visit them and use our national airline, or New Zealanders who are unvaccinated for health, personal, or religious reasons, to travel to see their loved ones across the world in the many countries that do not require vaccination for entry.

Your policy is also harmful to our ever-suffering tourism and hospitality industry. Why stop the myriad of travellers to NZ who happen to not be vaccinated for their own reasons, in using your airline, and seeing our beautiful country?

IF the vaccines stopped transmission, or infection, your position would be justifiable, but we all know that is not the case. In a country of 5 million, with 96% vaccinated, and over 500K historical Covid cases (most within the last 2 months), we now know there is absolutely no justification for this policy any longer.

Please, we urge you, make the right decision, based on the science, and stop the vaccine requirements for International, and the vaccine preference for domestic. 

Instead, if your concern is the safety of your passengers, perhaps you could require RAT tests 48 hours prior to boarding for all passengers, or some other system to ensure the safety of your passengers. We urge you to use the screening methods that exist that are much more science-aligned and effective than the broad-brush misinformed policy currently in place, a policy that is frankly punitive and damaging to everyday New Zealanders and our loved ones overseas. 

Regardless, we all know, vaccinated or not, Covid is a reality in our lives, and the majority of New Zealanders who want to travel would like to use your airline regardless of a vaccination status that does not prevent them from getting Covid-19 or spreading it.

We, the undersigned, urge you Air New Zealand, to stop the vaccination requirements for International Travel and the favouring of it for domestic travel. We want an end to our two class society, that Air New Zealand is promoting.