Cathay Pacific has told its aircrew that they must get a Covid vaccination by 31 August or risk losing their jobs, according to the BBC.
Managing staff rosters had become ‘difficult and complicated’ because of having to segregate vaccinated and non-vaccinated crew members.
The airline said that, for the global airline industry to recover, ‘vaccination is a critical component’.
Cathay Pacific is quoted as saying: ‘We will review the future employment of those who are unable to become vaccinated’, adding that the airline would ‘assess whether they can continue to be employed as aircrew’.
It was ‘becoming clear that only fully vaccinated aircrew will be able to return without quarantine from most places’.
The BBC reported that the Hong Kong-based airline said that 90% of its pilots and 65% of its cabin crew had been vaccinated or had appointments to have the injection.
The report said that airlines had taken differing approaches to cabin crew vaccinations. Earlier this week, US carrier United Airlines said that from August, only fully vaccinated pilots and cabin crew would be allowed to work on flights to high-risk destinations. This would apply to flights operating in countries such as India, Brazil and Chile.
United Airlines and US rival Delta were requiring all new recruits joining from 15 June to be fully vaccinated against Covid.
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