Qantas slaps Dan Andrews for demanding airline crews prevent NSW residents from traveling to Victoria

Qantas hit back at Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews for wanting flight crews to check whether passengers are legally allowed into the state.

The airline insists it’s not a job for its staff and it proposed a nationwide program to prevent illegal travelers a year ago, but has been ignored.

The fight erupted after two women traveled from Sydney to Melbourne with fake permits aboard Qantas flight QF471 on Monday afternoon as they were infected with Covid-19.

Qantas hit back at Victoria State Premier Dan Andrews for wanting flight crews to check whether passengers are legally allowed into the locked state. Seen here a stock image of passengers leaving a flight from Sydney to Melbourne

Authorities checked the couple’s permits upon arrival and they were immediately taken into quarantine at the hotel, where they tested positive on Wednesday. They were fined $ 5,452 each.

Mr Andrews has asked Qantas to change its check-in process to verify that passengers have the correct papers to travel to Victoria.

“I am not here today to try the airlines. But I think the airlines have been fairly generously supported by the taxpayers, ”he said.

“It wouldn’t be too much to ask them to check if someone has a permit or not. I would have thought the airlines could play that role for us.

Prime Minister Dan Andrews (pictured) has asked Qantas to step up its check-in process to verify passengers have the correct papers to fly to Victoria.

The row exploded after two women flew from Sydney to Melbourne with fake permits aboard Qantas flight QF471 on Monday afternoon as they were infected with COVID-19. Masked passengers are seen here at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport

“We cannot bring people to Victoria who do not have valid documents, who do not have this permit.

“It has served us well to the point where we have found people who are genuinely positive with this virus traveling on fake permits.

“If we have to go further than that, we will, and we may have to do even more.”

Victoria Covid Commander Jerome Weimar has warned of the threat the two women posed had they been allowed to leave Melbourne Airport into the city.

“What they thought they were doing, I can only speculate,” he said.

“The consequences of these two positive cases have not been stopped, being positive in the community and then spreading to Melbourne and Victoria.

“We don’t need two more such incursions.

The airline insists it’s not a job for its staff and says it came up with a better plan to prevent illegal travelers a year ago, but the state snubbed its plan. Seen here is Qantas boss Alan Joyce

But Qantas fired back at criticism and said it introduced a national plan a year ago in which health department officials would screen passengers before flights.

“This suggested approach was not adopted,” Qantas said in a statement.

“We agree that shouldn’t happen, but trained officials should decide who can and cannot cross state borders, not airline workers.

“Especially since travel restrictions vary so much between the states and territories we fly to and are constantly changing.

Victoria recorded 25 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Sunday, more than half in the community at some point while they were infectious

“It is not possible for airline employees to verify whether passengers are telling the truth in their statements, as was the case this week.”

Victoria recorded 25 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Sunday, more than half in the community at some point while they were infectious.

Health officials said 21 of them are linked to known outbreaks and 12 have been isolated throughout their infectious period.

NSW recorded a record 466 new cases on Saturday, prompting a week-long statewide lockdown in addition to Sydney.