Highlights
- Despite having what he thought was all the valid documents, Harpreet Singh struggled to board a Qantas flight to India
- Mr Singh also reached out to various government resources but was told that there was nothing they could do
- He now warns travellers to stay updated with the constantly changing rules and plan ahead accordingly
Mr Singh, who is currently in India, told SBS Punjabi he wants to share his story with other international travellers so they are aware of the need for two different forms of vaccination certificates.
Talking about his recent travel experience, Mr Singh said he had to struggle to board a flight to India at the Melbourne airport.
“I thought I was carrying all documents including the digital certification of my three vaccines. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that I needed to download a different proof of vaccination that is called an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC).
“Upon asking for help I was advised by the Qantas staff to go to the Medicare portal to download the international certificate and despite repeated attempts, I ended up landing on an error page,” Mr Singh added.
Mr Singh said the ABF expressed their inability to intervene on the matter as it was the airline’s policy. Source: AAP Images
The 1800 number to resolve such matters works only on business days and during business hours.
Mr Singh claimed that while he was trying every possible way to get hold of the much-needed ICVC document he ended up hitting a roadblock because of the lack of available support.
“I was suggested to call the helpline number to seek assistance – a number that I believe has been created to provide help on such vaccination certificate matters.”
“But I was stunned to know that this number provides help only during business hours on business days and not over the weekend.”
“I then also tried calling the Medicare helpline number and I was told that a system outage is not allowing me to digitally verify my passport number to attain the ICVC,” said Mr Singh.
Mr Singh, who also reached out to various government resources, said that while everyone tried to connect him to the right person for help, he was told that there is nothing much that he could do.
Harpreet Singh also reached out to Medicare for help but was told that due to a system outage he's unable to download the ICVC. Source: AAP
“I reached out to the Honourable Jason Wood, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs and MP for Latrobe.”
“Hats off to our Minister who returned my call at 7 am on a Sunday morning and patiently listened and advised me to approach the Australian Border Force.”
“The ABF officers heard me thoroughly and agreed that I have done all in my capacity but expressed their inability to intervene on the matter as it is the airline’s policy,” said Mr Singh.
Efforts finally paid off
Mr Singh claims that after hours of effort and continuous requests, the airlines conditionally allowed him and several others stranded at the airport to board the flight and cautioned him of his liability in case of being denied entry in India.
“I returned to the Qantas desk and pleaded with them that I need to travel urgently."
"The check-in manager then investigated the matter for a few minutes and reverted, saying she would allow me to travel at my own risk. And if the Indian authorities denied entry to the country, I'd have to return at my own expense.”
“I agreed to take the risk and also explained this to the other fellow passengers, who were facing the same issue and they also agreed to take the risk,” said Mr Singh.
After hours of effort and continuous requests, Mr Singh and his fellow stranded passengers were conditionally allowed to board the flight. Source: AAP Images
Why do we need two different versions of the vaccination record when they both have the same information?
Upon raising the question about the requirement of two different versions of the same document, a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told SBS Punjabi -
“The COVID-19 Digital Certificate is designed specifically for domestic use within Australia and for integration with check-in apps developed by Australia’s states and territories. It applies to Australia's definition of ‘fully vaccinated.”
“Whereas the International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate has been designed specifically for overseas use and meets the international standard set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.”
“The ICVC has a distinct look and feel and contains more comprehensive data, such as the vaccine batch number."
Different samples of COVID-19 vaccine certificates Source: Qantas
"It also doesn’t assert that the holder is ‘fully vaccinated’, as this is for authorities that inspect the certificate to assess according to their own national definition of the term,” said the department's spokesperson.
Mr Singh, who is currently in India, said he managed to download the ICVC while he was sitting in the flight as the system outage was resolved by that time, but warns others to stay updated with the constantly changing rules and plan ahead accordingly.
Detailed information about this can be obtained by clicking on 'Speaker' in the photo above.
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