United Airlines will require staff to be vaccinated
The mandate won't apply to passengers.
United Airlines will soon require that employees get vaccinated.
United Airlines will require its US staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The rule will kick in this fall, CEO Scott Kirby and president Brett Hart said in a memo to staff.
It's the first major airline to take this step, as noted by The New York Times, and it comes as the highly contagious delta variant spreads globally. Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have already said they'll require employees to be vaccinated.
United workers must upload proof of vaccination within five weeks of the Federal Drug Administration granting full approval to a vaccine or by Oct. 25, whichever comes first. Employees who fail to comply will be fired.
"The facts are crystal clear: Everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated," they wrote. "Over the last 16 months, Scott has sent dozens of condolences letters to the family members of United employees who have died from COVID-19. We're determined to do everything we can to try to keep another United family from receiving that letter."
This requirement won't apply to passengers, an airline spokesperson confirmed to CNET via email.