British Airways bosses have pleaded with staff to still fly to Covid-ravaged India after it emerged some cabin crew have been failing to show up for flights.
In a letter sent to BA staff, airline bosses begged cabin crew not to stay away.
According to one employee, some members of cabin crew are "scared of working on the flights", reports The Sun.
The BA letter says: “If you do not feel comfortable operating these flights then please complete a form and you will be removed.”
India is in the midst of a crisis as a second wave of the virus hits, with latest figures showing more than 270,000 people have died of Covid in the country.
BA has already axed night stops in a bid to encourage staff to fly, while managers have said every passenger travelling from India is required to take a mandatory pre-flight Covid-19 test.
BA said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we comply with all international regulations.”
According to The Sun, BA has reduced its flights to India since the country was placed on the government’s ‘red list, although is still operating several services a week across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today there are now more than 1,300 cases of the Indian variant in the UK.
The variant B16172 was first detected in India in March.
Mr Hancock did not rule out the possibility of imposing local lockdowns in areas such as Bolton to stem the spread of the variant, although he said it is “relatively widespread in small numbers” elsewhere.
The Health Secretary warned the highly transmissible variant can “spread like wildfire among the unvaccinated groups” as he urged people to come forward for jabs when eligible.
“In Bolton, where we’ve seen a number of people in hospital with this new Indian variant, the vast majority of them have been eligible for a jab but not taken the jab,” he said.
The Health Secretary said there had been no known deaths from the Indian variant in Bolton of somebody who has received both jabs.
Five people have been in hospital with it after received their first vaccine dose, while one person who had received both doses had been admitted “but that person was frail”, he told the BBC show.
As Government scientific adviser Professor Sir Mark Walport warned the pandemic is at a “perilous moment”, Mr Hancock insisted it is right to continue with Monday’s easing of restrictions.
People will be able to socialise indoors in homes, pubs and restaurants, and physical contact will be permitted between households for the first time in more than a year.
The Health Secretary said the extent of the increase of transmissibility of the variant is unknown “so that’s why it’s appropriate to continue down the road map but people need to be cautious and careful”.
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