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Qantas Group rules all staff must be vaccinated by March 2022
August 18th 2021
Australia's Qantas Group said today it was introducing a mandatory vaccination requirement for all staff following a survey of its workforce. Read More » The company said frontline employees such as airport workers, cabin crew and pilots must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 15. All other staff will have until March 31 next year to be inoculated. There would be exceptions to the directive for individuals with documented medical reasons for not receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, the company said. The airline group, comprising Qantas and Jetstar, said the 12,000 responses to a staff survey found 89% of respondents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or planned to be vaccinated. About 7% of those surveyed were undecided and 4% were unwilling or unable to be vaccinated. Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, said vaccination was the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures. "Many of our people said they would feel concerned about working with unvaccinated colleagues, which is an issue many workplaces across the country are grappling with," Joyce said. “We understand there will be a very small number of people who decide not to get the vaccine. That is their right. But it is our responsibility to provide the safest possible environment for our employees and for our customers." Other airlines that have mandated staff to be vaccinated include Cathay Pacific Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and United Airlines.
