Emirates operates first flight serviced by fully vaccinated frontline teams

“Our operational workforce are at the aviation frontline, helping people get to where they need to be, and moving essential goods to global communities. Protecting our people with vaccinations is important – for them, for our community, for the smooth running of our operations, and also for our customers as it introduces of an additional layer of protection when they travel with us. We’ve seen a very positive response with high demand and take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine from our colleagues at the operational frontline, and there’s continued momentum in the rate of vaccinations across the business. We would like to thank the UAE’s leadership for making three types of vaccines available in the country, and for their proactive commitment to championing an extensive National Vaccination Programme. At the outset of the pandemic, Emirates implemented robust safety measures to protect and prioritize the safety of our customers and employees at all stages of the travel journey, and with the rapid progress of our own vaccination program and high rates of take-up, more of our flights will soon be operating with fully vaccinated frontline employees. We are also confident that with more people being vaccinated, combined with strong safety measures in place, we can all look forward to the easing of border entry guidelines for many countries.” ~Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer, Emirates Airline

Safety above all, always: Emirates operates first flight serviced by fully vaccinated frontline teams across all customer touchpoints. EK215 to Los Angeles supported by over 70 vaccinated frontline team members across the operational spectrum. Close to 26,000 of Emirates Group’s frontline aviation workforce already vaccinated with two doses.

Honoring its commitment to the health and safety of its employees and customers, Emirates today has become among the first airlines in the world to operate a flight with fully vaccinated frontline teams servicing customers at every touchpoint of the travel journey.

Yesterday morning, the full airport and onboard customer experience for flight EK215, which departed Dubai at 8:30 AM for Los Angeles, was safely supported by check-in, security, Business, and First Class lounge and boarding gate employees, as well as engineers, pilots, and cabin crew who made the choice to be fully vaccinated.

Also supporting the flight’s operations were fully vaccinated aircraft appearance, loading and special handling teams from dnata, as well as SkyCargo teams working on the cargo and logistics requirements for EK215.

The Emirates Group rolled out its vaccination drive at a pace just over a month ago, and since then, close to 26,000, or 44%, of the Group’s UAE frontline aviation workforce, have received both doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinopharm vaccines.

Nearly 5,000 Cabin and Flight Deck Crew have opted to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, thousands more Emirates Group employees in other roles have taken their COVID-19 vaccine through the company’s clinics and vaccination centers, while others have opted to take their vaccine at one of the many vaccination centers across the UAE.

The Emirates Group vaccination program is the latest in its series of safeguards and protections to deliver on its health and safety promises to its customers, employees, and the communities it serves around the world. The Group’s vaccination centers have been running 12 hours a day, every day of the week to prioritize and provide aviation frontliners with the vaccine.

The UAE currently has one of the world’s highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents as it fights to curb the spread of Covid-19. So far, the UAE has administered over 5.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, recently reported that the country’s distribution rate stands at 55.27 doses per 100 people, ranking it the second-highest in the world.