Pope arrives in Iraq on Covid-FREE flight: all passengers were vaccinated
A commercial flight carrying exclusively passengers (130 in total) vaccinated against Covid-19. The first time occurred [...]
Alitalia
FCO
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A commercial flight with only passengers on board (130 in total) vaccinated versus Covid-19. The first time occurred on a historic occasion, namely Pope Francis' visit to Iraq.
The flight was theAlitalia's AZ4000 departed from Rome Fiumicino and arrived in Baghdad, the passengers were: the pontiff, with several Vatican staffers in tow, about 70 journalists and some security personnel who thus christened the first flight to the world really Covid-FREE.
Took off this morning from Rome Fiumicino the 180th papal flight AZ4000 that will accompany @Pontifex_en Francis on his Apostolic Journey to Iraq #PapaInIraq #Popeiniraq pic.twitter.com/byCacoG9om
- Alitalia (@Alitalia) March 5, 2021
The special health protocol
Everything was prepared for the occasion: all participants underwent the double dose of vaccine, so as to make the flight safe and Covid-Free.
Small curiosity: all papal flights operated by Alitalia are named AZ4000 regardless of the destination, a unique feature; the first flight operated by Italy's national airline for a Pope's trip took off in 1964.
But who pays for the ticket?
The flight is paid from the Vatican, it is for all intents and purposes a flight private and passengers who are not part of the Vatican staff (so basically journalists) pay a rate which is very close to that Business, although reporters fly in the back and thus in Economy.
In addition, newsrooms buy tickets from an agency travel which is headed by the Vatican, which in turn spins a fee on selling to Alitalia, something more Italian-style than that I can't think of.
Does the Pope fly only with Alitalia?
Actually no, for example for internal travel in Iraq Pope Francis will rely on the local airline Iraqi Airways. Instead, when it moves to the United States, the order is given to American Airlines.
The world's first Covid-Free flight is an interesting first time which we hope will become normality thanks to the vaccination campaign and initiatives such as the Health Passport. Travelers are increasingly buying trust, the hope is that as soon as possible everything will return to the way it was before the pandemic.
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