EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) on Monday dismissed a Taiwanese pilot for contravening quarantine regulations and posing a risk to his colleagues.
The pilot earlier this year reportedly asked his girlfriends to visit him while he was in quarantine and EVA on Monday launched an investigation.
The pilot admitted contravening the regulations, so the company’s disciplinary committee terminated his contract, the airline said.
“It was challenging for us to prevent such incidents, as we could not know what our staff were doing while they were at home,” an EVA official told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The company would enhance its staff management, it said.
EVA said in a statement that it is considering assigning security guards to check if its employees stay in their rooms and avoid visitors when they stay overnight in hotels overseas, and has asked it staff to order room service instead of dining outside.
Pilots and flight attendants are required to undergo three and five days of home quarantine respectively after returning from overseas. The isolation period is to be raised to seven days from Friday.
Following home quarantine, they would need to take a COVID-19 nucleic acid test, and even if they test negative, they must conduct self-health management for seven days, EVA said, citing the Central Epidemic Command Center.
EVA said it would require its staff to record their actions, the places they visit and the people they meet with when conducting self-health management.
The airline is also investigating another pilot and has fired four flight attendants for breaching regulations, while two other pilots resigned, it said.
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