Delta Airlines will impose a $200 (€170) monthly fee on employees unvaccinated against Covid-19, the airline announced on Wednesday.
In a new memo sent to Delta employees, chief executive Ed Bastian announced that unvaccinated employees enrolled in Delta’s account-based healthcare plan would be subject to a $200 monthly surcharge starting on November 1st.
"The average hospital stay for Covid-19 has cost Delta $50,000 per person. This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company," Mr Bastian wrote.
From September 12th, any US employee who is not fully vaccinated will be required to take a Covid test each week. Additionally, starting from September 30th, Delta’s Covid pay protection will be provided only to fully vaccinated individuals who experience breakthrough infections.
Currently 75 per cent of Delta staff are vaccinated. The airline has also partnered with the state of Georgia to operate the state's largest mass vaccination site at the Delta Flight Museum, where approximately 35 per cent of Georgia's mass vaccination doses were administered to residents.
“While we can be proud of our 75 per cent vaccination rate, the aggressiveness of the variant means we need to get many more of our people vaccinated, and as close to 100 per cent as possible,” Mr Bastian added in the memo.
Wednesday's announcement comes after the US Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 on Monday.
Earlier this month, United Airlines announced that it will require its US employees to be vaccinated, making it the first large airline to mandate vaccines for its employees. – Guardian Service