More than a dozen Canadian flight attendants have fallen ill with COVID-19, CBC News has learned. The union representing the country’s largest airline says crews need better protective gear.
More than a dozen Canadian flight attendants are sick with COVID-19, with one recently released from an intensive care unit in Calgary, CBC News has learned.
Many airline crews remain on the job as international and domestic flights continue to take thousands of Canadians home during the global pandemic.
But flight crews and their unions are becoming increasingly vocal in demanding better protective equipment, including protective suits or gowns, and mandatory testing for COVID-19.
“I’ve asked several times, ‘Why are we not wearing hazmat suits?’ Other airlines are wearing hazmat suits,” a flight attendant who works for a major Canadian airline told CBC News.
“We are on the front line and we are exposed to people from all around the world. We have connections from all over the world.”
CBC News agreed not to publish her name or that of her employer, as she is not authorized to speak publicly.
Protective suits and goggles are now required equipment for crew on Ukraine International Airlines, a measure of how far some in the airline industry are going to protect workers during the global emergency.
Canada’s airlines are now required to provide gloves, masks, wipes and sanitizer to employees. Wearing the gear is optional, except when handling food.
Illness in Canada
WestJet confirms seven of its employees have COVID-19, and Air Transat says four of its flight attendants and one pilot are sick.
Air Canada, which has a much larger workforce and operates the most flights, declined to say whether any of its employees had tested positive.
However, sources tell CBC News that a number of Air Canada employees are ill, with clusters in Western Canada and Calgary, where