Nearly 600 United Airlines employees will be fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Monday was the deadline for meeting United’s vaccine mandate, and the company announced Tuesday that it had begun the process of terminating the 593 employees who did not comply and did not request medical or religious exemptions.
About 96% of the carrier’s 67,000 employees have been vaccinated, and about 3% have requested an exemption.
United CEO Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart wrote in a memo to employees that the carrier’s high vaccination rate was “a historic achievement for our airline and our employees as well as for the customers and communities we serve.”
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Hawaiian Airlines also has a vaccine mandate that employees must comply with beginning on Nov. 1. Beginning Friday, Frontier Airlines will require employees to either get the shot or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test on a regular basis.
Other airlines have been experimenting with incentive programs. Southwest Airlines employees who show the company proof of vaccination by Nov. 15 will receive a bonus of two days’ pay. Starting on Nov. 16, employees who are not vaccinated and become infected with the coronavirus will not receive quarantine pay.
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Delta Air Lines will require unvaccinated employees to pay a monthly $200 health insurance surcharge beginning on Nov. 1. According to the Washington Post, 82% of Delta employees are vaccinated, up from 75% in late August.
