Delta hasn’t decided on worker shots under U.S. mandate

Delta Air Lines hasn’t decided yet how it will handle a federal mandate for coronavirus vaccinations for workers at certain companies, saying there are “different ways” to make sure 100% of its employees get the shots.

Delta’s delay splits from other U.S. airlines such as American Airlines Group, JetBlue Airways and Alaska Air Group that last week told workers the U.S. mandate applies to their companies and that they will be required to get the coronavirus shots. United Airlines Holdings has said 320 workers face being fired for failing to comply after it mandated the shots by Sept. 27.

“Our goal, clearly, is to get to 100%,” Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian told reporters at a meeting in conjunction with the International Air Transport Association meeting in Boston. “There are different ways to get there, and we’re going to do it our way. If there’s another path and the government mandates it, we’ll continue to consider it.”

Read more: How this company is enforcing their vaccine mandate

The federal mandate applies to some U.S. airlines because they employ more than 100 people and because most of them have contracts for flying with the federal government. About 84% of Delta’s employees have gotten the vaccine and Bastian said he expects the number to be “well over 90%” by Nov. 1.

Bastian reiterated his view that requiring vaccinations for airline passengers within the U.S. would be too disruptive given the number of people who fly weekly. “To try to figure out who’d be exempt, how do you display credentials, who manages it — there are many more questions than answers,” he said.

A stall in demand growth from delta variant cases bottomed out around the start of September and has continued to grow since then, Bastian said. He reiterated that Delta will report a third-quarter profit but declined to comment on the year’s final three months.