by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:10 AM ET, Fri June 4, 2021
As an incentive to get vaccinated, United Airlines will provide up to three extra vacation days to its flight attendants after the airline reached an agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants on June 3 to not mandate the vaccine for its flight attendants.
According to Reuters, United Airlines will make vaccinations voluntary but hopes that many will get vaccinated because of the looming potential that countries across the globe will soon mandate that all crewmembers will need to be vaccinated in order to fly to those countries. The statement also noted that Southwest and Alaska Airlines, by comparison, currently offered no vaccination incentives.
Similarly, the airline had agreed with its pilots' union not to make vaccinations voluntary for them but added a pay increase as an incentive to get vaccinated, according to another article by Reuters.
"AFA and United Airlines have a shared priority in getting as many Flight Attendants vaccinated as quickly as possible for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the vaccine provides an additional layer of protection in addition to mask compliance and cleaning process initiatives. It is anticipated, without advance notice, some countries may begin to require flight crews to be vaccinated. Having these records in place allows United to meet these requirements quickly and efficiently and maintain a competitive advantage within the industry while ensuring each of us can continue to fly our awarded schedules without interruption," the Association of Flight Attendants wrote in a statement on the agreement.
So far, most other airlines have not reached a conclusion on whether to mandate the vaccine for their employees. Back in May, Delta was the first to mandate the vaccine for new employees, when it reported a 60 percent vaccination rate for its 75,000 employees.
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