Dubai airline will begin rolling out the initial stages of its vaccination programme from January 18, according to company memo

Dubai airline will begin rolling out the initial stages of its vaccination programme from January 18, according to company memo

Emirates pilots and cabin crew will be among the first employees in the aviation sector to be vaccinated against coronavirus when the airline makes the Pfizer-BioNTech jab available to frontline staff as early as next week.

Aviation Business, a sister publication to Arabian Business, reported that the Dubai airline will begin rolling out the initial stages of its vaccination programme from 18 January, citing a memo sent to employees.

Crew will be able to put themselves forward for the vaccine if they wish but are not required to get the jab.

“Emirates is working closely with the Dubai Health Authorities to roll out the Covid-19 vaccination programme amongst our workforce,” a spokesperson for the airline confirmed. “Starting 18 January, we will begin providing the Covid-19 vaccine to our frontline workforce, including Cabin Crew, Flight Deck and other frontline employees.”

Industry body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month called on governments to ensure that aviation workers are made next in line for Covid vaccines after health care workers and vulnerable groups.

“We are not asking for aviation workers to be on top of the list, but we need governments to ensure that transportation workers are considered as essential when vaccine roll-out plans are developed,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s CEO.

Crew living on Emirates’ company premises will be the first to be able to access the vaccine, according to the circular.

It said that after crew are exempt from flying duties for a period of 18 hours after taking any Covid-19 vaccine, adding that staff who take the jab are not exempt from following Covid-19 precautionary measures, quarantine requirements, PCR testing or other requirements as per local authority guidelines.

The UAE’s vaccination programme is in full swing with the around 1.3 million people vaccinated so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

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