A number of European social partners in civil aviation welcome the recent progress on COVID-19 vaccines and its role in restarting the European economy in the near future. Frontline aviation workers will play an essential role in restoring and protecting European air connectivity and must be included in EU member states’ vaccination plans.
The recent progress on COVID-19 vaccines gives the European economy a prospect of recovery in the near future. The aviation industry will play a crucial role in this process, with aviation workers helping to address the central transport challenge of our times – successful distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
While industries like aviation have been badly affected by COVID-19 restrictions, these industries will also support economic recovery in a substantial way. Availability of aviation workers will allow European aviation to increase capacity, restore passenger confidence, and re-establish connectivity throughout Europe, both for business and leisure travel. European social partners in civil aviation believe that, following vaccination of frontline healthcare workers and the medically vulnerable, public-facing workers in critical industries, including aviation frontline workers, must be given priority as part of national vaccination plans.
These social partners call on member states to support the recovery of the European air transport sector and European economy by including frontline aviation workers in their COVID-19 vaccination plans and coordinating among themselves and with social partners to ensure efficient implementation.
Social partners’ statement is available here.
