EasyJet grounds entire fleet of planes
LONDON: British budget airline easyJet has grounded its entire fleet of planes and has no clear idea when it might resume flights, highlighting the strain on airlines trying to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
easyJet said yesterday that it would lay off its 4,000 UK-based cabin crew for two months, meaning they won’t work from April 1 but will get 80% of their average pay under a state job retention scheme.
The airline said it was focused on short-term liquidity, including removing costs from the business and working with suppliers to defer and reduce payments where possible.
It said grounding its fleet removed significant costs and that it was continuing to talk to UK pilots union BALPA over a potential deal with pilots.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure that easyJet continues to be well positioned to overcome the challenges of coronavirus,” easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said in a statement.
For easyJet cabin crew looking for something to do, Britain’s National Health Service has asked them to volunteer at hospitals being set up to cope with the thousands of coronavirus patients expected in the coming weeks.
Crew have first aid training and security clearance, making them ideal candidates.
easyJet said it was focused on using UK government measures already announced to help its finances during the coronavirus crisis and had no plans to ask for any bespoke support.
Small regional British airline Loganair, which flies between remote Scottish islands and the mainland, said yesterday that it was planning to ask the government for support, having already asked its owners for help.
“I do think that like the vast majority of UK airlines we will be going back to take up that invite for further conversation with the Treasury in the coming days because we have to,” Loganair CEO Jonathan Hinkles told BBC radio.
Virgin Atlantic has already requested state aid, asking for a package of commercial loans and guarantees worth hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the Financial Times.