Singapore Airlines employees to get vaccinations from Jan 13

SINGAPORE — Eligible Singapore Airlines (SIA) employees based here will make up the latest group of workers to join the nationwide vaccination exercise against Covid-19, the carrier said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 12).

They include cabin crew members, pilots, airport-based employees whose job requires them to interact with passengers, and selected engineering staff members.

These employees are on the Ministry of Health’s Rostered Routine Testing programme, which requires them to be regularly tested for the coronavirus.

“Participation is voluntary, and the SIA Group strongly encourages all eligible staff to take up this offer. The safety of our customers and staff is the top priority at Singapore Airlines,” an SIA spokesperson said of the Government’s initiative.

The vaccination exercise will kick off on Wednesday at the arrival hall of Changi Airport Terminal 4.

Singapore’s Covid-19 vaccination exercise has been underway for nearly two weeks. It moved to two new groups of workers on Monday to include Home Team officers at the frontlines of the pandemic response and those in the community care sector, namely employees of Ren Ci nursing home.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said last month that it would further tighten Covid-19 measures for air crew of Singapore carriers with immediate effect following reports that an SIA steward and a pilot had tested positive for Covid-19.

These measures include having crew members who layover in "high-risk destinations" to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on three occasions: Upon arrival in Singapore, and on the third and seventh day following their return. 

Crew members must also self-isolate until they receive a negative result from their seventh-day PCR test, CAAS said.