The Wall Street Journal stated, citing sources familiar with the situation, that United Airlines will enable personnel who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 for religious or medical reasons to return at the end of March 2022.
This, according to the report, will allow airline personnel who have been granted religious or medical exemptions from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to return from unpaid leave or the non-customer-facing duties they were permitted to apply for as a substitute for their normal jobs.
United Airlines was the first major US airline to require its personnel to be vaccinated.
From the start, the carrier was adamant on COVID-19 vaccination, asking all of its staff to be vaccinated or face firing.
In October 2021, the airline reported that its unvaccinated pilots were costing the firm $1.4 million in unpaid leave per two weeks.
Six United Airlines employees filed a lawsuit in September 2021, disputing the company’s vaccine policy.
The employees’ request to counter was denied by a US judge in December 2021, allowing the airline to place unvaccinated staff on unpaid absence.
