Qantas will remove the requirement for passengers with a previous COVID-19 infection who are still testing positive on their pre-departure PCR test to submit a medical clearance form 7 days before flying. This policy is expected to change as soon as next week, which will come as a huge relief to the many Australians who’ve been caught out by it.
Ever since Qantas restarted regular international flights in November 2021, the airline has required passengers to submit a medical clearance form at least 7 days prior to travel if they need a vaccination exemption, or if they have tested positive on a pre-flight PCR test due to a past COVID-19 infection.
But this additional Qantas requirement has left some Australians stranded overseas for at least an extra week beyond what the Australian government requires. Some passengers were even waiting more than the advertised 7 days to get approval to fly. This has caused severe additional disruptions to the travel plans of many Qantas customers who happened to get COVID-19 while overseas.
It comes as the Australian government begins accepting pre-departure rapid antigen tests for international travel to Australia, which travellers can now choose to get instead of a pre-departure PCR test as of Sunday, 23 January.
What’s required to return to Australia after a COVID-19 infection
Until 23 January 2022, the Australian government required anyone flying from overseas into Australia to get a negative COVID-19 PCR test result within 72 hours before departure. (This timeframe is extended to 96 hours for some countries, including Fiji.) But after getting COVID-19, some people continue to test positive on PCR tests for several weeks – even after they’ve recovered and are no longer infectious.
Recognising this, the Australian government allows passengers to board flights to Australia with a positive PCR test in conjunction with a medical certificate. The medical certificate should state that the passenger’s first positive PCR test result was at least 14 days ago, and that the person has since recovered and is no longer considered to be infectious.
Most airlines accept this medical certificate, in conjunction with a recent positive PCR test result, as sufficient proof of recovery when checking in for the flight – as per the Australian government requirement. But until now, Qantas has also imposed its own additional requirement on its passengers to request medical clearance from the airline at least 7 days before travelling.
With the Australian government now also accepting rapid antigen tests, travellers who have recovered from COVID-19 can now return to Australia as soon as they get a negative rapid antigen test. This is good news as the previous requirement of a negative PCR test was causing some problems for people who had already recovered but still testing positive on the more sensitive PCR test.
Qantas’ medical clearance form
The Qantas Group COVID-19 Past Positive Medical Clearance form is a 4-page PDF document that Qantas requires to be filled out and signed by a qualified medical practitioner at least 14 days after the passenger’s first positive PCR test result.
In addition to this form, Qantas also requires passengers to submit a copy of their initial positive COVID-19 PCR test result when requesting a medical exemption from the airline. The Qantas website outlines the full process.
The catch is that this form can only be completed a minimum of 14 days after testing positive to COVID-19, and must be submitted at least 7 days before flying. So in total, Australians who catch COVID-19 overseas have to wait at least 21 days until they’re allowed to return home on Qantas. (In most parts of Australia, meanwhile, positive cases now only have to isolate for 7 days before they are free to return into the community.)
Qantas turnaround times have also blown out
This additional Qantas requirement was already creating a significant additional burden for customers who were unlucky to contract COVID-19 while overseas. But to make matters worse, some passengers are now waiting even longer than the advertised 7 days to receive medical clearance from Qantas.
AFF member big_RED was one of those Qantas customers. They ended up waiting 8 days and 6 hours for Qantas to reply by email. In the end, by the time they were due to fly, this person had already waited so long that they were now testing negative on their PCR test anyway.
Australian Frequent Flyer understands that the long turnaround time is due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, meaning Qantas is currently working through a very high volume of medical clearance applications. Some of these are complex and require Qantas staff to contact customers several times.
While the 7-day period is a guideline for the amount of time it takes Qantas to process these applications, customers are able to fly as soon as they are cleared by Qantas. If this takes less than 7 days, they don’t have to wait the full week. But equally, if it takes longer, it then becomes the customer’s responsibility to rebook their flights (again). The airline prioritises applications by flight date and on compassionate grounds where possible, although some customers say it’s been difficult to actually contact Qantas.
Qantas will soon remove its medical clearance requirement
The good news for Qantas passengers is that the airline is now actively looking at changing this policy from next week.
“We know that for those customers who want to travel home from overseas but are still testing positive to COVID after 14 days this is a very stressful time,” Qantas Chief Customer Officer Stephanie Tully said.
“We have been approving these applications as quickly as possible, usually within a few days, and have been prioritising cases on compassionate grounds wherever possible.
“We are looking at removing the requirement for people flying into Australia to submit their medical clearance seven days before travel and instead have their documents verified at the airport before their flight. We hope to have this in place next week.”
While the current policy is still officially in place for now, it should be gone very soon.
If you recently had COVID-19, you’ll still need to meet the Australian government’s entry requirements – but you soon won’t have to wait another week for Qantas to process an extra medical clearance form.
With the Australian government also now accepting pre-departure rapid antigen tests, which are less likely to return a positive result long after someone has already recovered from COVID-19, the government requirements should also now be much easier to follow.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Qantas 7 Day COVID Submission – How Long to process?
