United Airlines is accused of employing an air hostess in the US, using international crews in London to manage flights from the United States to India. The accusation comes after thousands of United flight attendants received federal WARN letters for the second time informing them that they were in danger of continuing without compensation or health care benefits when an airline rescue company ran out in late March.
Over the past few weeks, air hostesses based at London Heathrow have not only made flights between the UK and the US, but also further to Delhi and Mumbai. One of the routes is that air hostesses fly from London to Chicago and after a short time work a third flight to Delhi and spend a night in India before making the same trip in reverse.
Another route involves United’s international crew flying from Heathrow to Newark and then to Mumbai. The London Heathrow base employs more than 400 flight attendants, some of whom are US passport holders.
Thousands of U.S.-based United States air hostesses were plagued in early October when funds from a federal payroll support program dried up. After flight attendants spent several months without pay or benefits, Congress agreed on December 28, 2020, to expand the program.
However, the expansion will come to an end in early April. United sent WARN notices to about 14,000 staff members on Friday giving them the legally required 60-day notice that their jobs were at risk.
Many of the flight attendants brought back from the first round have not yet worked a single flight while awaiting safety checks and mandatory training. A lack of flights also means that many air hostesses are sitting at home without work, but with full pay.
United did not comment on the routes operated by international flight attendants on behalf of their American colleagues, but a spokesman said: ‘We comply with government regulations to manage our service and flight schedule. United is making adjustments to the crew in line with current government mandates. ”
Some flight attendants have also expressed concern that air hostesses in the UK could be exposed to a highly transmissible variant of the covid-19 virus that was first discovered in south-east England.
Although passengers now have to do a pre-departure test before flying to the United States, air crews are currently exempt from the rules.
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