Qatar Airways says it operated the world’s first fully vaccinated flight during the pandemic 

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Qatar Airways says it flew the world’s first fully vaccinated flight on the Tuesday, April 6. 

In a press release, the international airline identified its historic flight as QR6421, which is notably an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. 

The flight departed from Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, and completed a 3.5-hour roundtrip that flew over the Persian Gulf and Oman, according to social media posts from passengers and Qatar Airways. 

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Both the airline’s crew and ticketed guests were all fully vaccinated for the novel coronavirus. 

"We are proud to continue leading the industry by operating the first flight with a fully vaccinated crew and passengers and providing a beacon of hope for the future of international aviation," said Qatar Airways Group’s CEO Akbar Al Baker, in a statement.  

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"With aviation being a critical economic driver both globally and here in the State of Qatar, we are thankful for the support we have received from our government and local health authorities to vaccinate our staff, with over 1,000 vaccinations being administered per day," he added. "As the vaccine rollout begins to gather pace worldwide, Qatar Airways remains committed to being the airline passengers and travel partners can rely on, operating one of the largest global networks to provide the connectivity needed to reunite families and friends and support global trade." 

Although everyone aboard QR6421 were vaccinated for COVID-19, Qatar Airways still practiced enhanced health and safety protocols. 

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Face masks were still worn in addition to socially distanced seating and pre-flight sanitization with Honeywell’s Ultraviolet Cabin System.  

Qatar Airways also introduced its "latest innovation" on QR6421, which is a "Zero-Touch" entertainment system that allows passengers to connect to TVs with their phones. 

Other perks passengers received on flight QR6421 included warm meals, "special amenity kits" and commemorative ticket holders and certificates that state they were on the world’s first fully vaccinated plane. 

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While Qatar Airways has operated the first fully vaccinated flight, Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates said it was the first airline to have a fully vaccinated onboard crew in February.