Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines will not require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, CNN reports.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said in a memo that he will “continue to strongly encourage” employees to get the vaccine, according to CNN.
- “Obviously, I am very concerned about the latest delta variant, and the effect on the health and safety of our employees and our operation, but nothing has changed,” Kelly said.
Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer, said most of its current employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Business Insider. However, the airline does not have any plans to require travelers or employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Earlier this week, United Airlines said it would require its 67,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new policy would begin on Oct. 25, per CNBC. Employees could risk being fired if they’re not vaccinated against the coronavirus.
These decisions come as travelers weigh the risk of the delta variant and the coronavirus spread against their own travel plans, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before they visit other countries and other locations within the U.S., though.
- “Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers might be at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading some COVID-19 variants,” the CDC said.