With cases of flu and other respiratory illnesses surging across the United States, it’s probably not surprising that sick calls are spiking in workplaces around the country. Not least, in customer-facing jobs where employees are surrounded by sick and infectious people.
But just before the New Year, flight attendants at Frontier Airlines received an unusually blunt email from the Denver-based budget carrier. The tone was painfully clear: the airline believes that crew members are abusing their sick leave, and Frontier was going to take action to stamp it out.
Frontier Airlines sends threatening note to flight attendants
In the run-up to New Year’s Eve 2025, flight attendants at Frontier Airlines received the following email addressing a spike in sickness amongst crew members:
"Let me make it clear: this trend is unacceptable and unsustainable. While illness and legitimate emergencies do happen, the frequency and timing of sick calls have reached a point where we can confidently say this protection is no longer being used as intended and where drastic action is now necessary.
Reliability is a fundamental expectation of this role that each of us committed to when choosing this career. When absenteeism increases, aircraft don't takeoff, schedules collapse, and trust, both internally and externally is eroded."
So, how does Frontier plan to slash sickness rates? Since December 30, 2025, flight attendants are expected to provide a doctor’s note for any sickness.
Frontier says the policy is being enforced “without exception” and that failure to provide an official sick note will go down as an unexcused absence, which could then lead to disciplinary proceedings.
The email from Frontier added:
"This action is necessary to safeguard operational integrity and ensure fairness to those who act responsibly every day. The vast majority of our flight attendants consistently uphold their responsibilities with professionalism and dependability, and this policy reinforces that standard."
Union says airline is within its rights
When you’re stuck in a metal tube for up to 12 hours or longer a day, surrounded by members of the public, battling tiredness from early starts and late finishes, and staying in different hotels every night, it’s probably no surprise that sickness rates amongst flight attendants are higher than the average office worker.
It appears, however, that Frontier doesn’t believe the spike in sick calls is completely down to legitimate sickness. But while the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), which represents crew members at Frontier, says it doesn’t agree with the policy or the tone or the email from the airline, it says Frontier is well within its rights.
Under the current flight attendant contract, Frontier is allowed to impose periods where all flight attendants must present a doctor’s note for sickness, so long as prior warning is given.
As Frontier provided prior warning, it can legitimately ask all flight attendants to provide a doctor’s note for sick calls. And while the contract provides examples like the Christmas Holidays or Super Bowl weekend when fake sick calls might spike, it appears as if Frontier is allowed to designate periods whenever it thinks it is required.
In a memo to its members, however, the AFA urged flight attendants to prioritize their health. “While attendance expectations exist, no one should feel pressured to fly while sick,” the memo read. “Taking care of yourself protects you, your crew, and your passengers.”
CDC estimates 7.5 million flu cases so far this season
After a particularly rough flu season during flu season in Australia and New Zealand, health experts have been anticipating a similar trend in Europe and North America. Unfortunately, those predictions are proving to be correct.
As of December 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there have been 7.5 million flu illnesses so far this season, resulting in 81,000 hospitalizations, and 3,100 deaths.
In its weekly influenza report, the CDC warned that flu activity is “elevated and continues to increase across the country.”
United Airlines won a legal battle to demand a doctor’s note
In July 2024, United Airlines also introduced a mandatory doctor’s note policy for all sick calls from flight attendants after witnessing a spike in callouts from crew members that allegedly coincided with weekends.
Giving flight attendants just 24 hours’ notice of the policy, United said it would require an absence certificate obtained at the crew members’ expense if they reported sick for any trip that departed on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
The United branch of AFA-CWA called the policy ‘reprehensible’ and launched a legal challenge, arguing that their contract prohibited United from demanding absence certificates with the exception of the Fourth of July and Christmas holiday period.
Nearly a year later, an independent arbitrator said the flight attendant contract did, in fact, give United the unilateral power to demand an absence certificate when there was evidence of “abuse or misuse of sick leave.”
United had provided evidence to the arbitrator that showed a “dramatic and sustained surge in weekend sick calls,” with sickness rates at the weekend surging to 22% in the months before the policy was implemented.
Ultimately, United suspended the weekend sickness policy just weeks after it was implemented, claiming that it had achieved the desired effect of reducing sick calls back to acceptable levels.
