3 major U.S. airlines will not require vaccines for their unvaccinated workers

In an internal memo obtained by CNN, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the airline “will continue to strongly encourage” workers to be vaccinated, but the airline’s position has not changed.

“Obviously, I am very concerned about the latest Delta variant and its effect on the health and safety of our employees and our operations, but nothing has changed,” said Kelly.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told Good Day New York on Tuesday that 75% of its workforce had already been vaccinated even without a company-wide mandate.

Situation of new recruits

“I think there are additional steps and actions we can take to further increase immunization rates, but what we see every day is that these numbers continue to rise,” Bastian said.

Both announcements follow a New York Times podcast interview with American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, who said the airline was granting vaccinated workers by the end of the month an additional vacation day in 2022. .

“We certainly encourage it wherever we can, encourage it for our customers and our employees, but we don’t put mandates in place,” Parker said.

In a statement, American Airlines said there was “no update at this time” to its vaccination policy. “We strongly encourage our team members to get vaccinated, and we offer an incentive for those who do.”

Top image: Southwest and Delta planes are seen at San Jose del Cabo International Airport in Baja California state, Mexico, April 29, 2021 (Daniel Slim / AFP / Getty Images)