Auckland Airport’s front-line workers vaccinated one month ahead of Govt deadline
New Zealand’s defence against the spread of COVID-19 has been strengthened with all Auckland Airport employees working
on the front-line now vaccinated, one month ahead of the Government’s mandatory vaccination order.
General Manager Corporate Services Mary-Liz Tuck said the spread of the delta variant meant Auckland Airport had decided
to bring forward the requirement for its front-line workers to be vaccinated from 30 September to 31 August 2021.
“Auckland Airport has an important role in protecting New Zealand communities from the spread of COVID-19, and we
believe vaccinations are one of the best tools we have to manage this pandemic and its impact. More than 90 per cent of
our front-line workers were vaccinated within the first eight weeks of COVID-19 vaccinations becoming available in
February.
“As we watch the spread of new variants such as Delta the safety and wellbeing of our people and community continues to
come first – particularly our front-line and specialist emergency workers who are key to keeping the airport running
safely,” Ms Tuck said.
Auckland Airport has been encouraging its 271 front-line workers to take up vaccinations since they were made available
to border workers earlier this year, offering staff paid time off work and sick days for anyone feeling unwell following
their vaccines.
“We were supportive of the Government’s decision to introduce the mandatory order for all border workers to increase
vaccination rates and following the current community outbreak of COVID-19 we made the decision to bring forward the
requirement for our front-line employees.”
All of Auckland Airport’s front-line workers that are on-shift have now been vaccinated, with small number awaiting
their second doses. Three front-line staff members will be rostered on only after they’ve had vaccinations over the
coming week.
Ms Tuck said Auckland Airport had also drafted new employment contracts for any future employees joining the company to
include a vaccine requirement, including those working in non-front-line roles.
“We accept that views will differ and not everyone will agree with our position, but the safety and wellbeing of our
people comes first, and we will continue to make the decisions that we think are right to protect our people and the
community from the spread of COVID-19.”