American Airways, Alaska Airways and JetBlue all are implementing Covid-19 vaccine mandates for workers in gentle of current steerage from the White Home that federal contractors should be vaccinated by Dec. 8.

U.S. President Joe Biden final month introduced in a set of govt orders that his administration would require corporations with greater than 100 workers to have their workers both vaccinated or endure weekly testing for Covid-19. For federal contractors, nonetheless, there isn’t any choice for testing.

In a memo to workers, American Airways CEO and chairman Doug Parker and president Robert Isom mentioned the provider is assessed as a authorities contractor as a consequence of such agreements because the U.S. Basic Companies Administration’s Metropolis Pair Program and cargo contracts with the Division of Protection.

“Whereas we’re nonetheless working by way of the main points of the federal necessities, it’s clear that workforce members who select to stay unvaccinated will be unable to work at American Airways,” Parker and Isom mentioned within the memo.

JetBlue in an announcement mentioned it “will totally adjust to the federal vaccine mandate for federal contractors, and we’ve got communicated this vaccine requirement to our crewmembers.” Alaska Airways in a memo to workers additionally mentioned it fell underneath the contractor necessities and can be requiring them to be vaccinated.

[Update, Oct. 5] Southwest Airways on Monday afternoon mentioned it will require all workers to both be totally vaccinated towards Covid-19 or authorised for a spiritual, incapacity or medical exemption by Dec. 8. The choice got here after a “thorough overview of President Biden’s Covid Motion Plan” decided that the provider’s contracts with the federal government meant it should adjust to the mandate, in keeping with an announcement from Southwest.

Delta Air Strains indicated it was evaluating the manager order.

“Whereas we proceed to judge the Administration’s plan, Delta is proud to have developed a vaccination program that has already seen 84 % of workers get vaccinated and is climbing day by day,” Delta mentioned in an announcement. “This follows our announcement of a healthcare premium surcharge, beginning in November, and weekly testing which has already begun for these workers who select to stay unvaccinated.”

Among the largest pilot unions in america have been pushing again towards vaccine mandates, together with each the Allied Pilots Affiliation, which represents American’s pilots, and the Southwest Pilots Affiliation. Each unions have mentioned a mandate may result in pilot shortages within the coming months, with estimates that as much as 40 % of the Allied Pilots Affiliation and as a lot as half of the Southwest Pilots Affiliation are unvaccinated, the Dallas Morning Information reported final week.

United Airways, which introduced a vaccine mandate even earlier than the Biden administration’s announcement, final week mentioned lower than 1 % of its workforce had not acquired at the very least the primary dosage of a Covid-19 vaccine after its Sept. 27 deadline. The provider had begun the termination course of for 593 remaining unvaccinated workers, and inside two days of beginning that course of, that quantity dropped to 320 workers, largely as a consequence of workers who had been vaccinated however have been tardy in importing their vaccination playing cards.

“The HR workforce expects that quantity will to proceed to go down as we enter into particular person conferences with workers and discover that they’re really vaccinated,” in keeping with a United spokesperson.