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A traveler wearing a protective mask speaks with an attendant at the Southwest Airlines check-in area at Oakland International Airport in Oakland, California, United States, Tuesday, Jan.19, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Southwest Airlines on Wednesday introduced new incentives to vaccinate its staff against Covid-19, following similar policies other carriers rolled out earlier this year.
The Dallas-based carrier said it would offer additional pay to staff who show proof of full vaccination by mid-November, according to a note from the company, which has been reviewed by CNBC.
Employees who upload their vaccination cards to the company by the end of Nov. 15 will receive 16 hours of pay, although flight attendants and pilots will receive pay for 13 travel segments, the company said.
Southwest told staff its new policies were “unrelated” to the sweeping measures President Joe Biden announced last week to increase vaccinations against Covid-19. However, Southwest said last week it was “prepared to come into compliance” with the upcoming rules. Biden has called on the Department of Labor to make Covid vaccines mandatory for companies with more than 100 employees.
“If you have not been vaccinated and choose to do so, this schedule gives you enough time to receive both sets of a two-set vaccine or the single-dose vaccine,” Southwest wrote to staff.
Southwest will also limit quarantine wage protections for Covid infections to staff who have been vaccinated, effective November 16. However, these unvaccinated employees can still use their own sick time.
The airline’s new policies come months after carriers, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, offered incentives such as extra pay to encourage staff to get vaccinated.
The airline recovery is closely linked to a drop in Covid cases, an easing of travel restrictions and the resumption of business travel.
Transporters have taken a variety of approaches to vaccinate staff. United has demanded that its US workforce of around 67,000 be vaccinated and said it will put staff with religious exemptions on temporary unpaid leave. Delta, for its part, plans to bill unvaccinated employees an additional $ 200 per month for the company’s health insurance starting in November.
American and Alaska Airlines announced earlier this month that they were ending wage protections for unvaccinated workers.
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