The EU should concentrate on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout rather than a digital vaccine pass, according to the CEO of Ryanair.
Eddie Wilson says is 'unrealistic' to expect the EU to have a Europe-wide digital pass system in place to facilitate travel this summer.
Earlier this week European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said proposals are being worked on for a ‘green pass’ that would show if a traveller had been vaccinated against COVID-19.
It would also have the test results for individuals.
Mr Wilson told The Pat Kenny Show his company would 'certainly' support ways for passenger to prove they've been vaccinated or had a negative PCR test.
However, he said: “The idea that we would have a passport ready to go in the context of the European Union… is probably unrealistic.
“On our app, you’re able to scan in your PCR test or vaccination cert… so when it comes to presenting these documents, everyone isn’t fuddling around with a piece of paper.
“I don’t think it will be a fully-fledged passport system… but I think if you can make it convenient for people who’ve had vaccinations or PCR tests to present to the various different countries, that would be something we’d support."
He said the focus has to be on avoiding 'adverse outcomes' such as hospitalisations and deaths, and that even those who face a longer wait to get vaccinated - such as children - would be able to travel once as many groups as possible are vaccinated.
Mandatory quarantine
The Ryanair CEO also criticised the focus on mandatory quarantine.
He argued: “The way out is to really concentrate on things like vaccinations, rather than sideshows like quarantines in hotels from red countries we have no [direct] connections with… nobody is ever going to show up at any of these hotels.
“I think we concentrate too much on these things that have no material effect, because nobody travels from most of the countries they're talking about."
Mr Wilson said some form of freedom of movement has to resume in the EU, and the only way to do that is get people vaccinated.
He said it will take time to get flight schedules back to normal one way or the other, but that both airlines and passengers need a clear timeline.
He said: “[Without] that, we’re never going to be able to give people the confidence to make commitments.
“What we risk doing… is exactly what happened last year, where some countries open up, and we have a hodgepodge approach.
“This idea that ‘we’ll see, we’ll see’ is frankly not good enough."
