Qantas will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as part of a commitment to safety.

Frontline employees – including cabin crew, pilots and airport workers – will need to be fully vaccinated by November 15th.

The remainder of employees have until the end of March.

However, there will be exemptions for those who are unable for documented medical reasons to be vaccinated, which is expected to be “very rare”.

The policy follows consultation with Qantas and Jetstar employees including a survey sent to 22,000 people to seek their views on vaccination.

The 12,000 responses received makes it one of the biggest single surveys on this topic in Australia.

The results showed that, of those who responded, 89 per cent had already been vaccinated or are planning to be.

Only four per cent were unwilling or unable to get the jab.

Thousands of aviation workers supporting international flights in New South Wales, South Australia and New Zealand are already required to be vaccinated by those jurisdictions.

Announcing the policy, Qantas Group chief executive, Alan Joyce, said: “Having a fully vaccinated workforce will safeguard our people against the virus but also protect our customers and the communities we fly to.

“One crew member can fly into multiple cities and come into contact with thousands of people in a single day.

“Making sure they are vaccinated given the potential of this virus to spread is so important and I think it’s the kind of safety leadership people would expect from us.

“We provide an essential service, so this will help guard against the disruptions that can be caused by just one positive Covid-case shutting down a freight facility or airport terminal,” Joyce said.