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United Airlines has been accused of putting US-based flight attendants out of work by using an international crew based in London to travel between the US and India. The charge comes after thousands of United flight attendants for the second time received federal letters of WARNING advising them that they risk being fired without pay or health care benefits when a rescue of an airline was running out at the end of March.
In recent weeks, London Heathrow-based flight attendants have not only flown between the UK and US, but also Delhi and Mumbai. One itinerary involves flight attendants flying from London to Chicago and after a short stopover, a third flight to Delhi and an overnight stay in India before making the same trip in reverse.
Another route involves United’s international crew flying from Heathrow to Newark and then to Mumbai. The London Heathrow base employs more than 400 flight attendants, some of whom hold US passports.
Thousands of U.S.-based flight attendants were put on leave in early October when funds for a federal payroll support program dried up. After flight attendants spent several months without pay or benefits, Congress agreed to an extension of the program on December 28, 2020.
This extension will however end at the beginning of April. United on Friday sent WARN notices to around 14,000 employees, providing them with the legally required 60-day notice that their jobs were in danger.
Many of the flight attendants who were brought back from the first round of leave did not fly a single flight while awaiting security checks and mandatory training. A lack of flights also means that many flight attendants are sitting at home without work but at full pay.
United did not comment on details of the routes that international flight attendants operate on behalf of their colleagues based in the United States, but a spokesperson said on the matter: “We comply with government regulations to manage our business. service and our flight schedule. United is making adjustments to staffing in line with current government mandates. “
Some flight attendants also expressed concern that UK-based flight attendants could be exposed to a highly transmissible variant of the covid-19 virus that was first discovered in the south-east of the ‘England.
Although passengers must now pass a pre-departure test before flying to the United States, crews are currently exempt from the rules.
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