Air India to vaccinate all staff, including flying crew, by May end

MUMBAI: Air India will begin a vaccination drive for its employees early next week and by May end all of its staff, including pilots and cabin crew, will be vaccinated, said Air India in a statement released on Tuesday evening. Early in the day, Air India pilots’ union had threatened to 'stop work' if the airline failed to set up vaccination camps across India so that flying crew both above and below the age of 45 years could get the life-saving shots.
"We are in no position to continue risking the lives of our pilots without vaccination," said the letter sent by Capt T Praveen Keerthi, general secretary, Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) to Capt R S Sandhu, Air India director (operations) on Tuesday.
The letter, marked also to the airline chairman and managing director and a host of other aviation government top brass, said that "many crew have been diagnosed COVID positive and are struggling to get oxygen cylinders. We are left to fend for ourselves for hospitalization.."
The pilots were left with "no health care support, no insurance, and a massive opportunistic pay cut.. Our finances are already spread thin covering our bedridden colleagues and provisioning for families lest we inadvertently infect them with the deadly virus that is an ever-present occupational hazard for us,’’ the letter said.
Air India in a statement said: "Since from 1st May, 2021 all persons 18 years and above can be vaccinated a schedule for vaccination is now being drawn up and it is expected to commence as early as next week and all employees will be vaccinated by end of this month that is May 2021.” The schedule is also being drawn up keeping in mind that crew who do not have fixed working days, the airline added.
"Discussions were already on for the vaccination of all Air India employees, including the crew. As the guidelines did not allow vaccination of persons below 45 years of age, Air India could not complete the vaccination,’’ the statement said.
"In the last few days Air India has lost valued employees in the second wave of Corona virus. Air India had in order to support families of deceased employees announced a compensation of 10 lakhs rupees for permanent employees in July 2020 and the scheme continues,’’ said the statement adding that Air India has already held vaccination camps in office premises for vaccination of 45 years and above employees.
Responding to a query sent by the Times of India about the ICPA letter, Air India spokesperson said that the airline was "aware of an official communique from one of its unions sent to the management….This is an entirely internal issue which is meant to be sorted out within the organisation,” the statement said.
Air India pilots have been on the forefront of the battle against the pandemic right through the lockdown of summer 2020 when cargo and evacuation flights were operated and later in May when international operations began under the Vande Bharat Mission.
Speaking about the critical role played by the national carrier in helping the country battle the second Covid wave, Air India in a statement said that in the last 10 days, the airline had ferried critical medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, BiPAP machines, ventilators etc. from several locations globally. "Till date, we have carried more than 8000 medical equipment worth over 190 tonnes from Hong Kong, Germany , USA , Singapore , Dubai, London etc. into India for onward delivery in various states,’’ said the airline.