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A Spirit Airlines plane takes off from Orlando International Airport.
Paul Hennessy | SOPA Pictures | LightRocket | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie told staff to get vaccinated against Covid-19 ahead of upcoming federal vaccine mandates for big business on Friday.
President Joe Biden said last month the government would require companies with more than 100 employees to prescribe vaccines or regular Covid tests for staff.
“The federal government has made it clear that Covid-19 vaccination or testing requirements will be mandatory for companies with more than 100 employees, and we will comply with that order,” Christie said in an email from staff, which has been reviewed by CNBC.
Christie said implementation of these rules will depend on government guidance “but we will move forward with new health and safety policies in any case.”
Competitors of Spirit, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines, and Southwest Airlines are federal subcontractors, which are subject to more stringent rules that do not provide the same testing option. These airlines have told employees over the past two weeks that they need to be vaccinated to comply with these contractors rules by December 8.
A spokesperson for the Miramar, Fla.-Based airline confirmed the email and said the company expected to give more details to employees in the coming weeks. Last month, Spirit asked staff to share certificates of their vaccination status to assess how many of them are vaccinated. The discount airline continues to collect these forms.
The airline had more than 8,700 employees at the end of 2020, but was in the process of hiring pilots, flight attendants and others this year.
New York-based JetBlue Airways told staff this week it had “explored whether there could be an extension of the deadline to comply, but the federal government has indicated it is not pushing back the date, we so we need the crew to plan to be fully immunized by December 8. “
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