Airport lays off one-quarter of its staff
YVR forecasting a 40- to 70-per-cent drop in air passenger traffic during next three years
The Vancouver airport celebrated a banner year in 2019 with a record 26.4 million passengers passing through its gates.
It looked forward to more record-breaking years as it continued work on a multi-year, $9.1 billion expansion to accommodate more expected passenger growth.
But with air travel dropping precipitously in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport faces a new, stark world.
It began issuing layoff notices Monday to about one-quarter of its 550 staff. The layoffs affect those who work directly for the community-based, not for profit YVR Airport Authority in departments that include operations, finance, engineering, human resources and administration.
There are another 26,000 workers on the airport property who are employed by hundreds of other companies that also face the affects of the pandemic that continues to spread around the world.
Earlier, YVR president Craig Richmond said he expected 50 per cent of those 26,000 airport workers would lose their jobs. The airport authority is forecasting a 40- to 70-per-cent drop in air passenger traffic during the next three years.
In past shocks to air travel — after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001 and the 2008 financial crisis — it has taken several years for air travel to rebound to previous levels at YVR, according to passenger statistics.
“Our current workforce is sized to operate a 26-million passenger airport, and that is simply no longer sustainable,” the airport authority said in a written statement about its 550-person workforce. “At YVR, we now expect to serve between eight and 15 million passengers per year for the next three years, and we are reorganizing our workforce to align with current and forecast operational requirements.”
The airport authority declined to comment Monday.
The layoffs announced Monday will affect both management and unionized employees. A voluntary round of layoffs, announced April 29, has wrapped up.
As the coronavirus has spread around the world, international travel has ground almost to a halt as countries locked-down their borders or significantly restricted any but essential travel. Airlines — including Air Canada and WestJet — have cut thousands of workers in order to survive and have seen their stock prices plummet.
In an April-end update to the City of Richmond COVID19 community task force, the YVR president said passenger volumes had declined more than 90 per cent from historical levels.
As some countries gain control of the virus’s spread and start easing restrictions, international travel restrictions may also be lifted. But even if and when restrictions are lifted, a major question is whether travellers will return, says Jacques Roy, a professor of transport management at the HEC Montreal business school.
Factors that will affect a return of travellers include people’s willingness to book leisure trips, whether businesses will continue remote meetings in place of face-toface gatherings and the general safety confidence in air travel, noted Roy.
“I would like to tell you, it’s going to be two years and it’s going be back to normal, but it’s very difficult to predict,” said Roy.
He said he considers the Vancouver airport well-managed and has confidence they will be able to face the challenges.