The airline Cathay Pacific is introducing compulsory vaccinations for its flight crew. The Hong Kong-based airline informed its flight attendants and pilots that Covid vaccinations must be proven by August 31, 2021. Otherwise there is a risk of expulsion.

The justification of Cathay Pacific seems quite strange, because the reason for the step is that the duty scheduling is so simplified. According to a report by the BBC, vaccinated and unvaccinated people should be separated from each other. Those who do not want to be vaccinated risk being expelled from the end of August 2021.

Some airlines, including Air Baltic in Europe, announced some time ago that only vaccinated people would be accepted for new hires. So far, the existing staff has been “spared” at almost all airlines. Although it can be heard that there is internal pressure from many providers, Cathay is the first airline to publicly announce that flight employees who do not want to be vaccinated are at risk of being kicked out. The Hong Kong airlines are thus introducing a direct vaccination requirement for pilots and flight attendants.