Air passengers are confident to travel with a fully vaccinated crew, according to a survey conducted by low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines.
AirAsia said 91.4 percent of passengers have expressed confidence to travel with fully vaccinated crew, based on the survey conducted last July 23, 24, 27 and 28 to 1,600 guests flying out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to destinations like Bohol, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Davao.
Only 8.6 percent of the passengers answered no and have raised concerns about other unvaccinated passengers during their flight.
AirAsia is targeting to inoculate its entire workforce within the year. At present, 67 percent of the 1,500 employees have received coronavirus vaccine shots.
When it comes to the use of vaccination cards, 1,256 or 78.5 percent of the guests said such should be considered in lieu of testing requirements such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Antigen tests.
However, 342 passengers do not believe that vaccination cards are enough.
Some passengers say a vaccine passport issued by the Bureau of Quarantine would be more credible as compared to different vaccination cards issued by various local government units.
“AirAsia is in the process of developing an app similar to the vaccine passport that would help the government in promoting fast, efficient and contactless requirement portals. The app will also eliminate the proliferation of fake RT-PCR results and vaccination cards,” said Steve Dailisan, AirAsia Philippines spokesperson.
Travel requirements during this time of pandemic have taken a toll not only on airline companies but also on travelers. Some 1,443 or 90 percent of AirAsia guests think that lesser cost for requirements for fully vaccinated individuals will encourage more people to fly. However, 152 passengers think otherwise.
At present, an RT-PCR with AirAsia’s partner diagnostic laboratory costs between P2,500 to P3,500 yielding results from 24 to 72 hours. Government-subsidized RT-PCR test through the Tourism Promotions Board costs P750.
