The president of the country’s largest flight attendants union called a request by Delta Air Lines for federal health officials to reduce the recommended quarantine time for breakthrough Covid cases the “wrong move.”
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” on Wednesday night that a decision like this, “may put flight attendants in a position to be forced to come back before they feel better.” Right now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises isolation for 10 days after a positive test, even if you are fully vaccinated and boosted.
The AFA represents some 50,000 flight attendants across more than a dozen airlines, including United, Spirit and Frontier. Delta’s flight attendants are not unionized but the AFA began an organizing drive there two years ago.
On Tuesday, Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, urging the agency to cut that time in half to just five days, saying the longer quarantine time could hurt the airline’s operations. JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes followed with a similar request to the CDC on Wednesday.
The requests come as Covid cases are spiking, mostly due to the omicron variant. Walensky said Wednesday omicron now accounts for 90% of all cases in the U.S.
Nelson said the new variant is, “really concerning.” She said the omicron spike is a worry for flight attendants, “not only for our health but also the conditions at work.”
Delta and the CDC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.