American Airlines Issues Vaccine Deadline for Employees, Who Must Comply Or Get Fired
All American Airlines employees in the U.S. must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 24 or face termination, the airline told employees in an email Wednesday night.
The airline first told employees in an email last Friday that all U.S.-based employees and some international crew members would face COVID-19 vaccine requirements under President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.
The airline is considered a government contractor under the president’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, according to American.
American will provide an extra day of vacation pay and other incentives for employees who submit proof of vaccination by the Nov. 24 deadline.
Most employees who are already vaccinated — except crew members like pilots and flight attendants — will need to resubmit their vaccine record, according to the airline. Employees can submit proof of vaccination at https://www.aa.com/vaccinestatus.
American will accept the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, or the Pfizer and Moderna two-dose vaccines for the mandate. Employees who chose the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines must get both doses before Nov. 24.
The federal mandate does not allow for a testing alternative to vaccines for government contractors, according to the airline. But workers can still request a medical disability or a religious exemption to the vaccine requirement.
OTHER AIRLINES MANDATE VACCINES
American is not the only airline to announce vaccine mandates for employees recently.
Other airlines requiring vaccines include JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines. All of those airlines have a presence at the Charlotte airport.
COVID-19 vaccines are not required for Charlotte airport workers, but the vaccines have been strongly encouraged by the city, which owns and operated the airport.
More than 70% of Charlotte airport workers in the city’s aviation department are at least partially vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to data released by the city. The Aviation Department has 638 employees.
Airport traffic numbers dropped drastically in early 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit North Carolina. But passenger traffic has rebounded in recent months.
In July — the most recent month of passenger data available — passengers boarding planes at the Charlotte airport surpassed 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic hit North Carolina. More than 2.2 million people boarded planes at CLT in July, compared to under 2.2 million in July 2019.
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