PostedJune 12, 2022, 10:32
The national airline is one of the few to refuse to allow its staff not vaccinated against Covid-19 to work. Some of the 150 employees affected have already been made redundant.
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AFP
Swiss announced it last week: it will cancel around 100 flights and cut destinations entirely due to staff shortages. A shortage for which she is responsible herself. Indeed, two months after the end of all protective measures against Covid-19, and despite the lack of personnel, the airline is still leaving its unvaccinated flight crew on the ground, reports the Sunday newspaper.
As a reminder, Swiss had decided last fall to lay off 150 flight assistants and pilots because they had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Some of them have already been made redundant – but the company won’t reveal how many. Others, who testify to their distress in the Zurich newspaper, are on leave and also threatened with dismissal. Instead of rehiring unvaccinated employees, Swiss plans to temporarily hire Lufthansa flight assistants on its network.
A spokesperson for the company justifies the situation by the fact that the vaccine offers the best protection against the serious evolutions of the disease, that it is recommended by the specialized authorities concerned, and that the evolution of the pandemic next autumn is uncertain. In addition, “different treatment of crew members would lead to great complexity in the planning of interventions and would constitute unequal treatment”, he adds.
Shortage of pilots to be expected
According to its own indications, Swiss does not lack pilots for the time being. But research by the Zurich newspaper has shown that cockpit crews are also operating at the limit, as the number of pilots is limited. However, as a long-time employee of the company explains: “Swiss knows from experience that sick leave increases when pilots have too many missions”. In his opinion, a new shortage of pilots is therefore foreseeable.
Swiss travelers impacted
Swiss people who have planned a vacation while flying on the national airline are already impacted by the situation. Some 10,000 passengers are thus affected by the cancellation of around a hundred flights in July and August, announced by Swiss last week.
(ewe)