Delta Air Lines will impose $200 surcharge on unvaccinated employees

Unvaccinated Delta Air Lines employees who refuse to get inoculated against the coronavirus are going to pay the price.

Starting Nov. 1, unvaccinated employees on Delta’s account-based healthcare plan will get hit with a $200 monthly surcharge.  

It's a necessary policy, according to CEO Ed Bastian, who noted that the average hospital stay for COVID-19 costs the carrier about $50,000 per person. 

"This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company," Bastian said in a memo to employees Wednesday. 

Following the rise of the delta variant – which has fueled a surge in infections across the nation – "all Delta employees who have been hospitalized with COVID were not fully vaccinated," Bastian further noted.