Swiss cites risk to hub system as it mandates Covid-19 vaccinations for crew

Swiss has become the latest carrier to say that Covid-19 vaccinations will be mandatory for its air crew, citing the disruption to its hub network that could otherwise be caused by complications around rostering. From mid-November, the Lufthansa Group airline’s “entire flying personnel” will need to be vaccinated, “for operational reasons and under a duty of care to employees”, the Zurich-headquartered airline says. “We must initiate this action now if we are to continue to maintain our global route network and fulfil our obligations towards our employees,” says Swiss CE Dieter Vranckx. The operator points to the “increased complexity” of managing the rostering of crew amid Covid-related entry requirements for many of its destinations, adding that having unvaccinated pilots and cabin attendants would make it ”impossible to ensure continued robust and reliable flight operations in the longer term” and would create “two crew categories” that would require “unequal treatment”. It particularly highlights Hong Kong, which is says has become its first destination to “demand proof of Covid-19 vaccination” for crews, with immediate effect. <br/>