There’s no evidence airlines met to ‘discuss the risks’ of letting vaccinated people fly

According to some social media users, people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 might soon encounter difficulty traveling by plane — yes, those who have been vaccinated.

One Instagram user claimed that airlines are concerned about the health and legal risks of allowing vaccinated people on board their planes.

"Airlines are meeting today to discuss the risks of carrying vaxed passengers due to the risk of clots and the liabilities involved," the May 30 post reads. "Oh the irony only the non vaxed can fly."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The claim has been debunked before.

There is no evidence that airlines gathered to "discuss the risks" of carrying vaccinated passengers.

"We’re not aware of any such meeting having taken place on 30 May or otherwise," said Perry Flint, the U.S. head of corporate communications for the International Air Transport Association, an airline trade group. 

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said the company didn’t "have any knowledge" of any such meeting and added that "we have not had internal conversations on this topic."

There is also no evidence airlines have expressed concerns about blood clots among vaccinated passengers or about liability associated with them.

"IATA’s position is that travelers who are vaccinated should be free to travel without restriction," Flint said.

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In the U.S., about 41.9% of the population — or about 138 million people — has been fully vaccinated, and about 51.5% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Blood clots were a known risk of long-distance travel long before COVID-19 or vaccines for the disease existed. The clots associated with travel are known as deep vein thrombosis and are caused by long periods of immobility. The CDC has had a webpage about how to mitigate the risks of blood clots when traveling long distances since at least 2013. 

Those clots are different from the handful of cases of extremely rare blood clots that are associated with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. They involve clots known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. They form in the brain, which means they can lead to headaches or stroke, according to Business Insider. 

Experts caution that people who contract COVID-19 are at greater risk for developing abnormal blood clots.

"Vaccinated people would have a far lower risk of getting blood clots, because they have a far lower risk of having COVID, and having COVID is what causes blood clots," explained Dr. Mark Crowther, a thrombosis expert for the American Society of Hematology and chair of the department of medicine at McMaster University.

Crowther noted that neither of the mRNA vaccines approved for use in the U.S. has been linked to an increased risk of blood-clotting disorders, while the J&J vaccine has been associated with a "tiny increase in the risk of a very rare blood clotting disorder." 

"If I were an airline I would be very concerned about unvaccinated people — for more than one reason — and would welcome vaccinated people onto my aircraft," he said. 

An Instagram user claimed, "Airlines are meeting today to discuss the risks of carrying vaxed passengers due to the risk of clots and the liabilities involved," and suggested that soon only unvaccinated people would be allowed to fly. 

Industry leaders said they had no knowledge of such a meeting, and there is no evidence that any airlines plan to prevent vaccinated people from flying. Additionally, experts said that blood clots are far more likely to develop as a result of COVID-19, rather than as a result of the vaccine. 

We rate this claim False.