More than 3,000 United Airlines workers called in sick this week due to COVID-19, leading to additional flight delays and cancellations.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby shared the information in a public letter to team members posted on the company’s website Tuesday.
#UnitedAirlines is canceling near-term #Flights amid a surge in #COVID19 infection cases resulting in almost 3,000 employees calling in sick as a memo from the CEO upheld the company’s stance on #VaccineMandates. https://t.co/91StSztiJP
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) January 12, 2022
“Our frontline teams continue to put in a tremendous effort during what I know is an incredibly challenging and stressful time – the Omicron surge has put a strain on our operation, resulting in customer disruptions during a busy holiday season. I appreciate your professionalism, creativity, and caring approach – it’s really made all the difference in helping us manage the impact on our customers,” Kirby wrote.
“In addition to impacting our operation and our customers, I also know that Omicron has affected the personal well-being of our United team. We have about 3,000 employees who are currently positive for COVID. Just as an example, in one day alone at Newark, nearly one-third of our workforce called out sick. To those who are out sick or isolating, we wish you a speedy recovery,” he added.
United had previously announced a vaccine mandate and has reported 96 percent of its staff members have been vaccinated or have received a medical exemption.
The staffing shortage has led to additional flight problems. More than 20,000 canceled flights have been noted nationwide since Christmas Eve across the nation from all airlines.
The latest issue shows the methods used to stop the virus have not worked, but continue to cause problems two years later.
