Omicron, bad passengers, US airline workers prevent Reuters from working overtime

Abhijith Ganapavaram and Aishwarya Nair

(Reuters) – US airline cabin crew, pilots and support staff have not been able to work overtime despite being attracted to major financial incentives during the holiday travel season due to growing fears of hiring COVID-19 and the possibility of dealing with bad passengers. the unions said.

The reluctance, along with bad weather and a tight airline-affected pandemic airline worker, led to the cancellation of flights last week, unions said. The problems will cause more tension in the coming weeks as the spread of the Omicron variant accelerates.

“We have negotiated holiday incentives to help with operational challenges, but so far there is only one thing you can extend to people,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Flight Assistants Association (AFA), representing 50,000 auxiliary aircraft of 17 airlines. a statement.

In the months leading up to the holiday, the airline was working to secure a strong workforce, having laid off thousands or thousands in the last 18 months as the pandemic crippled the industry.

The airline sector is also feeling more pressure as the number of jobs continues to pre-pandemic levels, but fewer hours worked by fewer workers have almost completely recovered.

The industry had hoped that workers would receive overtime from a record number of passengers to fly since the pandemic began, according to the AFA.

But the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, which is causing unprecedented COVID-19 cases in the U.S., has caused workers to rethink workloads. On Thursday, more than 1,200 flights were canceled in the United States, in or out of the ET at 3:29 p.m., according to data from the FlightAware.com flight tracking website.

United Airlines said the nationwide rise in Omicron cases has had a direct impact on its operations. Southwest Airlines (NYSE 🙂 Co. said it has not yet seen any impact on its operations.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ 🙂 Corp. said it was reducing about 1,280 flights by Jan. 13 because crew members were sick.

Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE 🙂 said it was offering incentive payments to flight crews but did not specify further.

American Airlines (NASDAQ 🙂 Group Inc, Alaska Air (NYSE 🙂 Group Inc, Spirit Airlines (NYSE 🙂 Inc., Skywest Inc. and Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ 🙂 Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said more agency staff tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

“To maintain safety, the volume of traffic at some facilities can be reduced, which can lead to delays during busy times,” an FAA spokesman said.

DIFFICULT TRAVELERS, DIFFICULT

Violent clashes between passengers and flight crews have also set a record this year, prompting U.S. regulators to plunge hard. The FAA said in early November that it had sent more than three dozen unsuspecting passengers to the FBI for possible criminal charges.

However, many of the cabin crew are concerned about their safety on board.

“It’s not worth the risk of going outside when there is a lot of tension and the risk of being injured or possibly disabled at work,” said Thom McDaniel, the international vice president of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), which represents more than 150,000 members. various sectors, including airlines.

For example, a U.S. Attorney in Colorado has charged a 20-year-old Californian man with assaulting an assistant airliner on an American Airlines flight to Santa Anara, Calif., On Oct. 27, forcing pilots to divert the flight.

Both the AFA and TWU have issued a public call to regulators to address the rising odds on board.

DO NOT PAY THE MOMUTE ONLY

Airlines have offered bonuses and triple pay to employees who work during the holidays, but few are bitten.

“A lot of flight attendants aren’t ready to pick up (extra shifts), even because they fear for their safety in exchange for an extra salary,” McDaniel said.

Some pilots have even ruled out extra pay. The American Airlines pilot’s union has refused to offer a double pay for working on holiday, according to an internal statement released by Reuters last month.

“We have limitations in the FAA and sometimes it comes close to them, but what you have is a human limitation,” said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, a representative of American Airlines pilots.

The Association of Allied Pilots, which represents Delta pilots, said resolving scheduling issues will be a priority when the union returns to January to negotiate contracts with the airline.