As communicated in the email on 06 January 2022 by Management, the new COVID law implementing 3G at the workplace will come into force on 15 January 2022.
We would like to underscore the importance to adhere to the communicated rules as any misconduct could be handled as a fault grave with the consequence of getting dismissed. Please do not take this light-hearted!
When we discussed the application of the new law with Senior Management already in December, both, Management and Unions brought the question regarding the application of the COVID Check for crews who start their duty outside of the Grand-Duchy to the attention of the government. However, in absence of clear rules in the COVID law of 16 December 2021, Management decided to apply the COVID Check only for duties commencing in Luxembourg, as for this location the rules are clear and the COVID Check is mandatory. We decided to support this decision by Management for the same reason.
Additionally, we welcome the decision of Management to continue offering testing free of charge before leaving on a trip and after arriving back in LUX.
In the ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of “Omicron”, more and more countries are implementing a mandatory vaccine or are at least discussing it. As communicated in earlier updates, there is international consensus that vaccinations are saving lives and will be key to regain a “normal” life. Therefore, the ALPL Executive and Divisional Boards strongly recommend that every pilot should be vaccinated.
Unfortunately, some local authorities still are very inflexible and strict when it comes to quarantine requirements for crews. The Thai authorities are just one example. Without being able to certify that all crew members on a layover are either vaccinated or recovered, e.g. in BKK, an operator is not allowed to make use of an alternative quarantine hotel. A high vaccination rate, ideally with all pilots vaccinated, would also be a first step to have the quality of our layovers improved.
In this context we would like to remind all to communicate their vaccination status to OHS. While you may believe that the so called “GreenPass” may be of limited value as crew member, it will aid in collecting reliable data which may be useful or even required to gain some relief for us pilots from e.g., the fierce in room confinement in BKK.
Through our survey we do have an indication, that roughly 90% of our members are already vaccinated. We thus would like to ask those who haven’t received a vaccine yet for whatever reason, to re-evaluate their position in this respect.
We are in this together and it needs a great act of solidarity of everyone to achieve the so much desired relief in this pandemic!
