To accelerate the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination programme and help the travel industry recover, AirAsia’s Allstars (staff) will be volunteering at major vaccination centres (PPV) around Klang Valley.
Over 1,000 staff from AirAsia’s cabin crew, ground staff, engineers, office staff, and top management will be carrying out non-medical duties throughout the campaign period.
This initiative comes in a couple of months after its logistics arm, Teleport expressed its willingness to help in the distribution of vaccinations around SEA.
Equipped to serve
The campaign begins this week with Allstars serving at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and the Setia City Convention Centre. They will be involved with greeting and assisting people with registrations, making announcements, and briefing attendees on any possible side effects.
Tony Fernandes noted that AirAsia’s cabin crew are already trained in caregiving and handling medical situations as they are the first responders on a flight. “I’m sure they are thrilled to be back in uniform, doing what they do best, serving people in the air and on the ground,” he said.
Upper management from AirAsia’s subsidiaries like airasia money, Teleport, airasia farm, and more, will also be involved.
“While there is a commitment required, shift times are flexible. After our Allstars have signed up, the MyVAC team will get in touch with them for further scheduling arrangements according to their nearest PPV centre,” AirAsia told Vulcan Post.
“Moreover, we encourage Allstars who are furloughed to volunteer as part of this crucial movement to drive Malaysia’s vaccination campaign.”
Getting travel back on its feet
Thus far, AirAsia has also been involved in transporting vaccines from KL to Kuching, Sarawak, and to Vientiane in Laos. The shipment was commissioned to Teleport by international government bodies.
According to Tony, all of their flight crew in Indonesia are already vaccinated and he’s expecting the majority of Allstars within the region to get their shots in the upcoming months.
The entrepreneur previously expressed his optimism that AirAsia’s financial recovery is achievable within 2 years, given immunisation efforts in major SEA economies. This includes getting vaccinations rolled out aggressively and efficiently as well as implementing a standardised digital health passport among eligible countries.
AirAsia saw a revenue decline of up to 87% in Q1 2021 to RM298.22 million from RM2.31 billion posted in Q1 2020.
“Ultimately, we need just around 50% of the population to be vaccinated in order for cross-border travels to take off. I have full confidence that we will get there soon, thanks to the hard work and strong commitment of governments and health authorities in putting an end to this devastating pandemic,” stated the group’s CEO.
Editor’s Update: Parts of this article have been edited to reflect greater accuracy.
- You can read more of what we’ve written about AirAsia here.
- You can read more COVID-19 vaccination articles we’ve written about here.
Featured Image Credit: AirAsia
