Etihad Airways has become the first airline in the world to have all of its operating pilots and cabin crew vaccinated.

The carrier’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Tony Douglas, said the move was aimed at helping curb the spread of COVID-19 and give passengers who travel with the airline peace of mind.

“We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travellers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us,” he said.

“We are the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every passenger and crew member before every flight and now, we’re the first airline in the world with 100% vaccinated crew on board.

“I chose very early on to be vaccinated to demonstrate my own support of the national vaccination programme and to encourage everyone at Etihad who was eligible for the vaccine, to receive it as soon as possible. I would like to thank the entire Etihad family for everything they have done to help us reach this milestone – I am truly humbled.”

Douglas said the achievement was made possible through Etihad’s ‘Protected Together’ employee vaccination initiative which was formally launched in January this year.

Building on the UAE’s Choose to Vaccinate campaign, he said Protected Together is about helping staff take proactive, personal steps towards protecting themselves against COVID-19.

Following the UAE Government’s target to vaccinate half of the UAE population by the end of March 2021, Etihad said it is ahead of schedule with over 75% of its entire workforce already having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Douglas said with even more activity still planned as part of the Protected Together initiative, this figure will continue to grow as more employees step forward and choose to vaccinate.

Currently, the UAE has the second highest vaccination rate in the world.