Lufthansa “plans” COVID-19 vaccination lounge in Moscow
Germany’s national carrier is reportedly set to make
vaccine tourism
a reality. Lufthansa is “in talks” to set up a “First Class Corona Lounge” in the Russian capital to help affluent Germans beat the queues at home and receive the Sputnik V vaccination.
Germany is facing a huge shortage of any brand of vaccine and many inhabitants are not scheduled to receive their first dose until 2022.
Lufthansa is understood to be in talks with Russia’s foreign ministry about establishing a regular service between Frankfurt Airport and Moscow Domodedovo – shuttling desperate, rich Germans in & out to receive the jab. The beauty of the plan is that these passengers can fly to Domodedovo without having to formally enter Russia and return for the second booster dose when it is due.
The lounge would be set-up in an isolated part of Moscow’s second-biggest airport ensuring no contact with any other of the airport’s passengers.
The cost of the two round-trips – including vaccines – will reportedly be set at the US$1000 level. The price of a single dose of the Sputnik V vaccine is currently US$10 – one of the least expensive in the world.
Domodedovo Airport is privately owned by the billionaire Dmitry Kamenshchik. It is he who reportedly came up with this vaccine tourism plan, but it will ultimately be up to the Kremlin to endorse it as a new type of transit-visa will need to be officially created.
Less than 10% of Germans have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and the country has taken a dislike to the AstraZeneca vaccine – speculating about its credibility. However, Germans approve of Russia’s Sputnik V shot and are clamouring for Angela Merkel’s government to purchase more of these immediately.
In 2019, Germans took over 70 million foreign trips and are vital in the restart of the global travel economy. If successful, the concept could be rolled out to other European airports.