Etihad Amongst the First Airlines with Fully Vaccinated Crew
Finally, a piece of good news for the tourism industry. Etihad Airways has recently made an important announcement: the airline is the first in the world to vaccinate all of its operating pilots and cabin crew.
Building on United Arab Emirates’s Choose to Vaccinate campaign, the airline formally launched its own ‘Protected Together’ campaign this January. The initiative has secured places for its frontline employees and their families in Abu Dhabi’s vaccination program.
In a recent statement, Etihad Aviation Group’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas said: “We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travellers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us. We are the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every passenger and crew member before every flight and now, we’re the first airline in the world with 100% vaccinated crew on board.”
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The airline, in partnership with International Air Transport Association (IATA), also aims to introduce a health passport which will ensure smoother travelling for its passengers. The IATA Travel Pass mobile app will generate QR codes that will share all relevant information with authorities.
Following in the footsteps of Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines has also announced that it has recently launched its first flights with inoculated pilots and flight attendants.
Although only a few flights are currently being staffed with fully vaccinated crew members, Singapore Airlines is confident that more routes are soon to follow, as more than 90 percent of its cabin crew and pilots have signed up for their vaccinations.
Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Airlines, Mr Goh Choon Phong, said, “We are very encouraged by the strong take-up rate for the vaccine from our colleagues. Vaccinations will be key to the reopening of borders and to enhancing travel confidence, in tandem with robust testing regimes and the wide-ranging safe management measures that are in place on the ground and in the air. They offer greater protection for our people and provide an added layer of assurance to our customers.”
