Huge drop in flights departing airport as virus ground planes
Staff have taken pay cut or been furloughed Only four airlines are still operating on vital routes
Flights departing from Glasgow Airport have dropped by 94 per cent during the coronavirus crisis.
The number of scheduled flights departing from the airport is now 25 per week, in comparison to 418 before the global pandemic.
Four airlines are still operating limited flight from the Paisley based airport, including British Airways, KLM, Logan Air and RyanAir.
These airlines are running flights to vital links to the Scottish islands, and flights to and from London Heathrow, Dublin Airport and Schiphol Airport, in Amsterdam.
Known as hub flights, the routes are helping people return to their homes and allowing key workers to move around the UK.
The Scottish Air Ambulance and helicopter flights for the UK oil industry also continue to land at the airport.
Airport bosses have already temporarily laid off a number of staff from the Renfrewshire hub, and all remaining workers hit with a 20 per cent pay cut in a bid to cope with the coronavirus crisis.
Bosses at the airport told the Express that a “significant number” of its staff have been added to the UK Government’s furlough scheme, which sees people who are unable to work as a result of the outbreak paid 80 per cent of their wages.
The remaining staff, including board members and those in leadership roles, are to take a 20 per cent pay cut.
Bonuses have also been suspended.
Airport bosses confirmed the number of flights and passengers does change daily.
A total of 125 passengers flew out on 12 flights on Tuesday, while Monday saw ten flights carrying a total of 42 passengers departing.
A spokesman from Glasgow Airport said: “Glasgow Airport remains open and operational to support a reduced number of routes from hub airports including Heathrow, Dublin and Schipol, as well as lifeline services for the Highlands and Islands.”
The drop in the number of scheduled flights is expected to keep aviation emissions unusually low this year, and may mean airlines will have to stay within a tighter limit than they had expected.
In 2016, a UN deal between 192 countries agreed to set carbon emissions limits from international flights at 2020 levels, meaning that 2020 emissions will be used as a baseline going forward.