Source: Chicago Tribune Author: Julie Johnsson 05/01/2009
Subject Concerned: Aircrew Airlines Human Resource
United Airlines confirmed on May 1 that one of its employees, a ramp worker in Denver, has contracted the swine flu.
The man, described by The Denver Post as a baggage handler in his 40s, contracted the illness over the weekend, was hospitalized for three days and has since returned home.
He last worked at Denver International Airport on April 23, said Rahsaan Johnson, spokesman for Chicago-based United.
The ailing worker did not come into any contact with passengers at the airport and appears not to have transmitted the disease to co-workers.
"We certainly had multiple conversations with our co-workers in Denver, answered their questions," Johnson said. "But medical professionals have told us that there is no reason to believe that he may have been contagious while at work."
The swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, mimics regular flu symptoms and hasn't been linked to many deaths in the U.S. Still, its rapid spread has raised concern for some airline workers who come into constant contact with people on the job.
Southwest Airlines, which dominates service at Chicago's Midway Airport, has stocked extra non-latex gloves for employees who request them, said Brandy King.
Southwest has also removed pillows and blankets from its planes to lessen the risk that they might somehow spread the virus.
United, the third-largest U.S. airline, is asking workers to take the same precautions in airports and on airplanes as they would during the height of the cold and flu season, Johnson said.
The largest airline to serve Chicago O'Hare International Airport, United has also has disinfected every surface of the cabins of aircraft returning from flights to Mexico.
United distributed extra hand sanitizers to customer service workers at O'Hare on April 30, said one United employee, who asked not to be identified.
"I don't know if that's terribly unusual," Johnson responded.
United already stocked its aircraft with gloves, masks and hand sanitizers and drilled its flight attendants on how to respond to passengers who become ill at 35,000 feet.
"Flight attendants have the tools, training to take proper precaution if the situation warrants it," said Sara Nelson, spokeswoman for the union.
The nation's largest flight attendants union, meanwhile, has asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue an emergency order requiring all U.S. airlines to take similar precautions.
The union wants carriers to be required to provide non-latex gloves and masks to flight attendants, at least on trips to areas that are flu hot-spots.
The Association of Flight Attendants also asked federal authorities to ensure that aircraft are equipped with proper hand-washing materials, to develop and enforce passenger-screening methods recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and instruct flight attendants what steps to take if a passenger shows flu symptoms.