Pilots and crew already vaccinated, airlines fly safely

Etihad Airways announced that it is officially the first company in the world to have vaccinated all members of the "front-line" workforce, then all crew members in its fleet.

An excellent achievement on the part of the company, which succeeded in this feat very quickly without the need to impose, at least on paper, the vaccination process. Free choice was left to all employees but, at the same time, Etihad protected itself in case of any cases of infection.

In fact, the company specified how unvaccinated people would not be paid their due salaries if they were absent due to illness in connection with contagions from Covid-19. Absolute priority, of course, to personnel in close contact with the public. This does not mean, however, that the company ignored others. The vaccine was guaranteed to the 75% of the rest of the employees.

On balance, it has been a difficult 2020 for Etihad employees, to say the least. The company boasted 20,457 employees as of February last year. A figure also included 1,969 pilots and 4,817 crew members. Covid-19 has upset the internal balance, leading to thousands of layoffs.

A process that began rather quickly. The first reports of hundreds of layoffs date back to March 2020. The most recent, however, are from last November, with the company ready to cut up to 1,000 jobs, according to Reuters.

Singapore Airlines

The one put in place by the world's major airlines is a race against time. Vaccinating their cabin crew is critical not only for the safety of employees, but also to try to speed up the process of getting back to normal. The travel world suffered a blow during 2020, to say the least, and this year it hopes to bounce back. It will all come through ensuring that passengers have the safest possible flight.

Singapore Airlines worked hard to succeed in achieving the same goal as Etihad. And it succeeded but with a delay of less than 48 hours. The airline announced that it has rolled out several planes with fully vaccinated flight crews. This includes all three airlines placed under the umbrella of the SIA Group: Singapore Airlines, Silk Air e Scoot.

The first flights have already started on February 11, 2021 from Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia, Bangkok and beyond. This is still an ongoing process, with more than the 90% of the crew. and pilots who have requested a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. In a short time, therefore, the number of totally safe routes will increase considerably. There is no doubt that, in the run-up to next summer, there will be a variety of companies able to boast such an achievement.

EL AL Airlines

A real "struggle of releases" is being witnessed. If Etihad Airways announced that it was the first airline to vaccinate all its flight crew, including pilots, EL AL Airlines emphasizes, less than 48 hours later, that it has done even better. It is in fact the first company to have vaccinated all its employees destined to deal with passengers, both in the air and at the airport. This includes, therefore, security employees as well.

Israel's national airline flaunts the achievement achieved, as does the rest of the nation. To date, statistics in hand, Israel ranks first in the world in terms of vaccination. This is, of course, also reflected in its own airlines. Also excellent are the results of Arkia Israeli Airlines, which appears to have ensured vaccination coverage at 70% of its employees. Israir Instead, it boasts 95% of its vaccinated pilots.

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