United has the strictest vaccination policy of any airline in the US and also ranks among the toughest of any company in the country. Starting Tuesday, staff who are not vaccinated could be forced to leave their jobs, CNBC reports. 

The deadline for United employees who chose not to get vaccinated against Covid-19 passed on Tuesday, opening the door for layoffs from the airline.

In an interview at the Atlantic Festival on Monday, United CEO Scott Kirby said that 98.5 percent of the company's 67,000 employees were vaccinated. However, that figure did not include personnel who were granted exemptions for religious or medical reasons, a spokesperson told CNBC. 

Those who receive such an exemption will not be fired, but will be placed on unpaid leave. Staff who do not have an exemption, however, face termination, a process that will begin today but is expected to take a few weeks. Since the reason for the termination is that they violate the company's security policy, they may also lose unemployment benefits.

All major U.S. airlines have encouraged their staff to get vaccinated, but the approaches to getting as many people as possible to get the shots vary. Some have offered extra pay or time off as incentives, while companies like Delta Air Lines are planning to introduce a $200 monthly surcharge to cover unvaccinated employees' health care costs. 

Although not all airlines require vaccinations, employees who choose to opt out may be denied the opportunity to fly to certain destinations.

In Sweden, there are no vaccine requirements, but SAS has encouraged all its employees to follow the vaccination programs and get the vaccine, according to what the company's press officer John Eckhoff told TT in August. When SAS flies to countries that require flight crew to be vaccinated, the airline allows personnel who they know have taken the vaccine to fly the routes.

Source: di.se