Malaysia

Vaccinate airline staff now, says Nufam


The government must not expect cabin crew and pilots to immediately fly when borders are reopened, unless they are vaccinated first.

PETALING JAYA: The health and transport ministries have to start organising vaccination drives with airlines to get their employees immunised as soon as possible, the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) says.

In a statement today, Nufam said that while travel restrictions and border lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic mean the travel industry is yet to get back on its feet, airline crews should not “feel fearful” once such measures are lifted.

“If the government is planning to open up green lanes with neighbouring countries, we urge them to do the right thing first,” said the union, adding that no crew members have been vaccinated as of yet.

“The government must start planning now and let us know if vaccines will be made available soon for aviation workers as they will be the ones on duty when borders reopen.

“Surely you can’t expect our cabin crew or the pilots to immediately fly when the government announces borders will be reopened?”

Nufam said that it wants to see airline workers guaranteed the same protection as other frontline workers, stating that there are thousands of airline workers serving the national carrier and low-cost carriers.

Nufam noted that cabin crew and pilots in several other nations have already been vaccinated and called on Malaysia to follow suit by setting up vaccination booths at KLIA and klia 2 to ease the process. Not only would this ensure that the vaccination process runs smoothly, Nufam said the measure would also prevent congestions at hospitals.

Under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, citizens and non-citizens aged 18 and above will receive the vaccine in Phase 3, which is expected to start in May and will run until next February.



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