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Yesterday morning, United Airlines announced it would require employee vaccinations, a first for a major airline in the United States. Well, it didn’t take long for another airline to follow suit.
New Frontier Airlines vaccination policy as of October 1
Frontier Airlines has announced that all direct employees of the company will need to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by October 1, 2021. As described, this action comes as cases of the coronavirus, and in particular the delta variant, increased in the United States.
As Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Airlines explains:
“As we continue to observe the rapid increase in new cases of COVID-19 across the United States caused by the Delta variant, I am concerned for the well-being of our team members, their families and friends. Safety is of the utmost importance at Frontier and we must take all possible measures to ensure the safety of our teams, protect operations and protect our passengers. Now is the time to do what we can to help end COVID-19.
The good news is that the vast majority of our employees have already taken this important step and been vaccinated. I hope the measure we are announcing today will further increase the percentage of our workforce fully immunized.
Interestingly, Frontier Airlines could be the first major US airline to introduce a vaccination policy. While United made the announcement first, the airline does not implement its policy until five weeks after September 20, 2021, or five weeks after the FDA announced it had fully approved the vaccine, depending on the first. contingency. In other words, United’s policy might not be implemented until the end of October, while Frontier is implementing its policy from early October.
There is a catch with the Frontier Airlines policy
What happens if Frontier Airlines employees choose not to be vaccinated? Well, it looks like the airline doesn’t actually require employees to be vaccinated.
It is stated that employees who choose not or cannot be vaccinated will be “asked to regularly provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test”. The airline will work with union leaders to establish testing protocols that work for employees, their health and the overall safety of the workforce.
It differs from United’s policy. United will terminate employees who choose not to be vaccinated, the only exception being “a very narrow reasonable accommodation process (as required by law) for religious and medical exemptions.”
So I guess Frontier is taking more of the approach that it will be very inconvenient not to get vaccinated, rather than making it really mandatory. I guess the logic is that Frontier seeks to avoid the possibility of legal issues with its policy.
At the end of the line
Frontier Airlines is becoming the second major airline in the United States to announce plans for an employee vaccine requirement. The policy goes into effect on October 1, so the airline could be the first in the United States to implement it. However, there is a catch: Employees can choose to have frequent tests instead of getting vaccinated.
What do you think of the new vaccination policy for Frontier Airlines employees?
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