Wizz Air has become one of the first European carriers to make vaccination against the COVID-19 virus mandatory for all of its flight crew, including pilots and flight attendants. The airline ordered its employees to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible, imposing a strict deadline of December 1, 2021.
The chief executive officer of Wizz Air Group, Jozsef Varadi, said the decision was made taking into account the airline‘s responsibility to protect its crew members and passengers, and mitigate risks to get infected onboard Wizz Air aircraft.
“At Wizz Air, our number one priority is the health and safety of our passengers and employees,” Varadi said in a statement dated September 1, 2021.
The carrier stressed that even though vaccination will be compulsory for all flight crew members, similar to other airlines, there will be some exceptions. For instance, “in special cases” employees can choose to undergo regular COVID-19 antibody and PCR testing instead of getting vaccinated. However, Wizz Air expects that the majority of staff who have contact with the airline’s customers will be fully vaccinated by the deadline given.
Similar vaccination mandates have already been set by various airlines globally, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia, Emirates, Cathay Pacific.