United Airlines on Friday became the first U.S. airline to require all its domestic employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The airline said employees would need to show proof of vaccination, five weeks after the U.S. drug regulator fully approves any of the vaccines from Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc or Johnson & Johnson – expected sometime in the fall – or by Oct. 25, whichever is earlier, Reuters reported.
See also: United and Mesa Airlines sign agreement to purchase 200 electric aircraft.
A resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States due to the more infectious Delta variant has forced the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reimpose some mask mandates and some companies to require vaccinations at workplaces.
“The facts are crystal clear: everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated,” United Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart said in a letter to employees.
See also: United Adds Nearly 150 Flights to Warm-Weather Cities This Winter.
Kirby and Hart said they expected some employees would disagree with the decision but added that the instruction was issued to make the workplace safer.
Employees who get vaccinated before Sept. 20 and those who have already received their shots will get an additional day of pay.
United’s pilots union, which represents more than 12,000 pilots, said the vaccines requirement requires further negotiation with United, adding that a few pilots do not agree with the mandate.
United had reached a deal with its pilots’ union in May that does not make vaccination mandatory, but provides extra pay to those who receive it.
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