Southwest Airlines giving vaccinated workers two extra days of pay

Southwest Airlines will provide vaccinated workers with extra pay, according to a company memo sent to employees Wednesday, joining other airlines in pushing employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Dallas-based company will provide two days of bonus pay, or 13 trip segments of extra pay for flight attendants and pilots, to employees who show proof of vaccination by Nov. 15. Southwest will also cut quarantine pay protections for unvaccinated workers who catch the virus after the November deadline.

“If you have not been vaccinated and choose to do so, this timeline gives you enough time to receive both rounds of a two-series vaccine or the single-dose vaccine,” Southwest wrote in a memo to employees.

Southwest said that the new policies are not related to President Biden’s order that will require businesses with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or weekly testing, but that the airline is prepared to comply with the new rules when they go into effect.

Most of the major U.S. carriers have offered incentives to employees to get vaccinated, and some have taken more aggressive measures to boost vaccinations.

United Airlines last month became the first airline to require all of its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Delta Air Lines announced that unvaccinated employees enrolled in the company’s health care plan will face a $200 monthly surcharge.