Etihad Airways, the flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is officially the first airline in the world to vaccinate all of its operating pilots and on-board cabin crew against COVID-19. Earlier this year, as part of the inaugural "APEX Health Safety" audit, Etihad was also awarded Diamond status for ensuring and enforcing the highest standards of hygiene and sanitization.
Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group, said:“We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travelers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us. We are the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every passenger and crew member before every flight and now, we’re the first airline in the world with 100% vaccinated crew on board."
Etihad was able to achieve 100% vaccination through its "Protected Together" initiative for employees, which was launched last month. The program's primary objective is to help its staff proactively protect themselves against the spread of COVID-19. During 2020, the airline activated a plan to secure spots for its frontline staff (pilots and cabin crew, for example) in Abu Dhabi's vaccination program. It also secured the possibility of gaining accredited status for its Medical Center as a COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
Following the UAE Government’s target to vaccinate half of the population by the end of March 2021, Etihad is ahead of schedule. Over 75% of its entire workforce has already received at least one dose of the vaccine; this figure will grow as more employees step forward and choose to vaccinate. The UAE currently has the second-highest vaccination rate in the world.
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