BackAir India’s plan to vaccinate staff by 31 May stalled due to vax shortage
Meanwhile, IndiGo has commenced vaccination drives across 40 stations in its network and at the IndiGo Support Centre
PremiumNEW DELHI: National carrier Air India Ltd's plan to vaccinate all its employees by May-end will be deferred due to vaccine shortage, a senior official with the airline said, requesting anonymity.
The national carrier recently cancelled vaccination camps at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on 11 May and 13 May due to unavailability of coronavirus vaccines.
"At present, it looks difficult to vaccinate all employees of the airline before 31 May, as there is a shortage of vaccines," the senior official added.
This development comes a week after the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) advised all players in the aviation sector, including airlines and airports, to expedite vaccination for aviation employees.
Last week, MoCA advised all players in the civil aviation sector, including airlines and airports, to cover their employees under the ongoing vaccination programme in an attempt to expedite the vaccination process for employees in the aviation sector.
The guidelines issued by MoCA also directed airport operators, including state run Airports Authority of India (AAI), to establish dedicated vaccination facilities at airports across the country to facilitate expeditious vaccination for the personnel involved in aviation or related services.
However, plans to vaccinate all aviation staff will now be delayed until there are enough vaccines available in the market.
A senior AAI official said that setting up vaccination camps across all AAI airports, as suggested by the government, could only be done when there are enough vaccine stocks.
"The situation (shortage of vaccine) could ease over the next couple of months. More facilities can then be set up to inoculate aviation staff," the official said requesting anonymity.
Apart from Air India, airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Vistara also plan to vaccinate all its employees. However, these vaccination drives depend on availability of vaccines.
"IndiGo has already commenced vaccination drives across 40 stations in its network and IndiGo Support Centre at Gurgaon. There are drives planned for some additional stations later this month," IndiGo said in a statement on Thursday.
"This is however also dependent on vaccine supplies and how quickly these will be made available by the government and private hospitals," it added.
The shortage of vaccines has caused uncertainty among frontline aviation staff, including pilots and cabin crew, who continue to work amidst a surge in covid-19 infection.
"We are risking our lives on a daily basis (by exposing ourselves to the covid-19 infection) while performing our duties," said a senior Air India pilot, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.
As things stand, airlines, including Air India, have lost several staff to the covid-19 virus. This has created a fear among aviation employees, who risk contracting the virus while on the job.
"Airline staff need to be vaccinated if they are to perform their duties. Management should give priority for procuring vaccines to inoculate the staff," the senior pilot added.
A spokesperson for MoCA didn't respond to queries on how the government plans to expedite the ongoing vaccination drive for aviation staff, as stated in a statement last week, at a time when there's a shortage of vaccines.
An Air India spokesperson didn't offer comments.
As of 12 May, India has been successfully able to vaccinate only 2.8% of its population (with two doses of vaccines), while 10.1% of the population have got at least one dose of covid-19 vaccines, according to data from the research portal Our World in Data.
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