LATAM Brasil announced that it will need to cancel about 47 flights throughout this month, due to an increase in cases of Covid-19 and Influenza (Flu-H3N2) in the company's crew.
Despite the cancellations, the picture should have little impact on the airline, which operates around 700 flights a day. The affected customer can request a change of flight, or even a refund of the airline ticket if the reschedule is not to their liking.
At the moment, the airline most affected by the rise in cases of Covid-19 and Influenza is Azul, with hundreds of flights compromised throughout January, most during this first week of the year. If the situation does not get worse at LATAM, the company should have about 1% of its flights scheduled for January affected.
Since Thursday, around 89 Azul flights have been canceled due to the low number of crew available to carry out a stopover, according to information from the G1. Many are on a medical certificate due to Covid-19 or Influenza.
Previously, GOL and LATAM, as well as airlines associated with ABEAR, required their crew to be vaccinated against Covid-19, reaching an average of over 99% of these vaccinated employees. Some, however, did not receive the flu vaccine.
Due to flight cancellations, and also due to the expansion of the fleet in recent weeks, Azul opened vacancies for Flight Attendants recently. Priority on the hiring list will be for crew dismissed from LATAM and Itapemirim.
To work around the situation, not only Azul, but other airlines are looking for volunteers who want to exchange their additional days off for bonuses for those who choose to work in January. As is known, by law, crew are entitled to 10 monthly days off. The airline will pay up to triple for the crew member to have 9 monthly days off.
