You’re correct. Demanding verification (or general inquiry) of a jumpseater’s vaccination status is not a serious position. Its laughable and asinine.

 

I agree it's asinine, but our hypothetical CA can still deny the jumpseat. Unless you want to go back in the terminal, find a fire-axe and try to force the issue. Good luck.

 

This is the issue. Since when did FAs become a police force? As far as I know, they don’t have the power to enforce anything. If someone doesn’t comply with any rules of their safety instructions, they should report it to an authority that has the power to compel the passenger to comply or suffer legal consequences. That would help drive down much violence.

 

Pilots are so cliché.

 

What's cliche about used to work in the biotech industry?

 

Nothing.

And I never mentioned Biotech.

I did, however, make a point that you are speaking authoritatively about viruses on an airline pilot forum. Statistically speaking, airline pilots do not commonly dual major in epidemiology or some broad virology category. Now, I’ll come hat in hand if that is the case. But if you have some generic science degree, I’m sorry but that just doesn’t pass muster. Doctors will even disagree on the political nature of these discussions. For you to speak authoritatively as if your background elevates your opinion over other pilots is inappropriate, in my opinion. Regardless of a background in Biotech.

 

I'm certainly not speaking authoritatively about the vast majority of bioscience (or anything else). I do have a better-than-layman grasp of the range of the possible and likely, and I tend to speak up when people come on here promoting the impossible, ridiculous or the exceptionally unlikely. Seems like a lot of people, if they bother to see knowledge at all, get it from tik-tok and then aggressively advocate that to the death.

But anyway the point of this was can a *hypothetical* CA get away with denying the JS based on vaccine status (or proof of) during the pandemic. Nobody knows, you'd have to try it to find out... my guess on that is not "authoritative" it's just an opinion, like anybody else's guess.

 

Once this hypothetical CA is vaccinated himself/herself, they would be protected from the threat of an unvaccinated jumpseater... therefore any denying of jumpseaters for vaccination status would be politically driven or just salty that someone has a difference of opinion than them. So the whole idea is crazy.
Captains can make decisions that are in the name of safety, but that only goes so far. Denying all jumpseaters from October to March because it's cold and flu season wouldn't be appropriate.
A vaccinated person is not at a concerning level of risk regardless of the presence of an unvaccinated individual. That would be like declining an aircraft for a deferred thrust reverser with a long runway and good conditions under the guise of 'safety would undeniably be increased on an aircraft without mechanical issues.'
I am well aware that captains have authority of the jumpseat, but that could certainly be changed if problems were to arise.

 

Surprising to me how many airline pilots are arguing in support of limiting a captain’s authority.

 

Nice straw man.... Nobody on this forum has suggesting limiting captain’s authority on jumpseat access. Of course the captain ultimately decides if a jumpseater will be allowed. The adults here were just pointing out how inappropriate it would be to grant jumpseat access on the basis of vaccination status.

Similar to how it would be a nasty and unprofessional thing to do to turn away a jumpseater based on sexual preference, religion, etc.... that Captain should ultimately be counseled by his colleagues (jumpseat committee, CP, etc) about why its not acceptable.

At a previous airline there was a major safety concern observed by an FO and Jumpseater that led to a CA being called in for retraining. Afterwards the CA instituted a personal policy of no jumpseaters in the flight deck. Would you think this is an acceptable practice to allow at your airline?