World first for Etihad as airline vaccinates flight crew against COVID-19

All pilots and cabin crew working for Etihad Airways have now been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The national carrier is the first in the world to do so.

"We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travellers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us," said Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group.

"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 per cent vaccinated crew on board."

This achievement was made possible through Etihad’s ‘Protected Together’ employee vaccination initiative that was formally launched in January. 

Building on the UAE’s "Choose to Vaccinate" campaign, 'Protected Together' is about helping staff take proactive, personal steps towards protecting themselves against COVID-19.

All operating pilots and cabin crew at @Etihad have chosen to vaccinate to help curb the spread of Covid-19 and support safe travel. The airline is the first in the world with its entire flying crew receiving their first vaccine dose, and the majority already receiving both. pic.twitter.com/4qemvVbD1S

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) February 10, 2021

Dr. Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services and CSR, Etihad Aviation Group, said, "Following the national vaccination programme, we worked tirelessly to become an approved COVID-19 vaccination clinic to support our staff, and their dependants, to be able to easily access the vaccine. Since December 2020, we have been offering in-house vaccination appointments to our employees and their loved ones to ensure we are focused on our employees' wellbeing."

Following the UAE Government’s target to vaccinate half of the UAE population by the end of March 2021, Etihad is ahead of schedule with over 75 per cent of its entire workforce already having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

With even more activity still planned as part of the 'Protected Together' initiative, this figure will continue to grow as more employees step forward and choose to vaccinate.

100% of our crew are vaccinated. We’re the first airline in the world to vaccinate all pilots and cabin crew on board against #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/LUeAH7Q4pL

— Etihad Airways (@etihad) February 10, 2021