CHICAGO— United Airlines (UA) has reminded its nearly 30,000 flight attendants that employees who are too sick to work should not use their non-revenue travel benefits for leisure trips while on sick leave.
The guidance has created a dispute with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), which says the contract does not prohibit flight attendants from travelling while they are officially off sick.
The disagreement centres on United’s pass-travel policy and the terms negotiated between the airline and its flight attendants.
While United has warned that leisure travel during sick leave could lead to disciplinary scrutiny, the union maintains that crew members do not need a supervisor’s permission before using their travel benefits.
United Sick Leave Policy
United has told flight attendants that employees who are too ill to work should also be considered too sick for leisure travel.
The airline’s position suggests that crew members who use standby travel while on sick leave could face questions or disciplinary action, particularly if management believes the sick call was made to facilitate a trip.
However, AFA-CWA has pointed to a long-standing understanding with United’s Labor Relations department. Under that understanding, flight attendants can travel while on sick leave without obtaining advance approval from a supervisor.
The distinction is important because the union does not say that sick leave provides unrestricted protection from investigation.
United can still examine a case if it believes an employee improperly used sick leave or if the travel appears inconsistent with the employee’s recovery, PYOK flagged.
Contract Protects Travel
The issue comes after United’s flight attendants ratified a new five-year contract in May 2026.
Nearly 30,000 crew members are covered by the agreement, which delivered an average 31% wage increase, boarding pay and $741 million in retroactive compensation.
The new agreement followed more than four years of negotiations and was approved by 82% of voting flight attendants. AFA-CWA has continued to emphasize that contractual language, rather than general company guidance, governs working conditions for represented crew members.
AFA’s position is that United cannot simply impose a new restriction on sick-leave travel when the negotiated agreement and established Labor Relations understanding permit such travel.
The union reiterated this position in September 2026 after United issued a pass-travel reminder.
Sick Leave Can Face Review
Although flight attendants may travel while on sick leave, they remain responsible for demonstrating that their absence from work was legitimate.
AFA says employees should be prepared to explain that they did not call in sick merely to obtain time off for travel and that their activities did not interfere with recovery.
United has also increased its focus on patterns that could indicate sick-leave abuse. Travel activity, rejected vacation requests, and subsequent sick calls can attract additional scrutiny when they create concerns about whether leave was used appropriately.
That means the contractual right to travel does not necessarily prevent an investigation.
If a flight attendant chooses to seek permission and a supervisor explicitly denies the request, the union’s guidance states that the employee must follow that direction.
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