British Airways’ parent company has indicated the airline could cut 12,000 out of 45,000 staff to survive the coronavirus crisis.
“In light of the impact of COVID-19 on current operations and the expectation that the recovery of passenger demand to 2019 levels will take several years, British Airways is formally notifying its trade unions about a proposed restructuring and redundancy program,” International Airlines Group (IAG) said in a briefing to announce its first-quarter results.
“It is likely that they will affect most of British Airways’ employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them.”
BA currently has 45,000 staff with 23,000 currently furloughed due to the minimal travel caused by COVID-19. BA has stated that it is attempting to prevent redundancies but as the situation has continued, drastic measures may be required.
British Airways CEO Alex Cruz earlier issued a letter to employees outlining the struggles faced by the airline. “Any money we borrow now will only be short-term and will not address the longer-term challenges we will face,” he wrote. “The scale of this challenge requires substantial change so we are in a competitive and resilient position. However challenging this is, the longer we delay difficult decisions, the fewer options will be open to us.”
In other airline news:
- In a move designed to keep Austrian Airlines aircraft flying, while at the same time helping to transport vital personal protective equipment (PPE), Austrian Airlines is converting a Boeing 777-200 into a freighter.
- American Airlines is to begin distributing face masks on board flights from early May. The US carrier will also require flight attendants to wear face masks on board all flights.
- From the 4 May onwards, JetBlue Airways will require that all passengers wear compulsory face masks. The low-cost carrier is the first US airline to make face masks mandatory for travellers on its flights
- Etihad is due to start regular commercial flights again as soon as 16 May. The airline is now taking bookings for multiple dates to several destinations. Etihad is working with the government to get its schedule sorted and work around international travel restrictions. Previously, the airline had hoped to restart a regular schedule from 1 May.
- Over 2,000 Icelandair employees will be laid off at the turn of the month. The flag carrier of Iceland has had to make the tough call amid financial and operational struggles due to the global health crisis.
- Turkish Airlines will not operate any commercial flights until 28 May. The Star Alliance carrier is forced to do this, citing public health. This extended suspension is also indicative of the lack of major international travel demand until the end of May– if even that.
- United Airlines has confirmed today that it will start distributing free face masks to its passengers from next month. The Chicago-based carrier is also making it compulsory for flight attendants to wear the new equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Southwest Airlines has announced a considerable loss of $94 million. The US carrier posted the loss for the first quarter primarily as a result of the ongoing crisis affecting the aviation industry. However, it is also still without its 737 MAX aircraft.
- Singapore Airlines has raised nearly $13 billion over the last few months to shore itself against the aviation crisis. Now the carrier is planning to spend $6.2 billion, putting $2.3 billion towards aircraft purchases.
