LONDON: British airline Virgin Atlantic plans to cut 3,150 jobs and move its London Gatwick operations to the bigger Heathrow airport, it said on Tuesday, as it counts the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The spread of the novel coronavirus has virtually brought airports around the globe to a standstill, leaving airlines taking drastic steps to make savings.
The redundancy plans at Virgin Atlantic, which follow a similar announcement from British Airways last week, intensified calls from unions and opposition politicians for support from the government for the aviation sector.
“We have weathered many storms since our first flight 36 years ago, but none has been as devastating as Covid-19 … now is the time for further action to reduce our costs, preserve cash and to protect as many jobs as possible,” Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Shai Weiss said in a statement.
“It is crucial that we return to profitability in 2021. This will mean taking steps to reshape and resize Virgin Atlantic in line with demand.”
Virgin Atlantic’s announcement also heightened concerns about the future of London’s second biggest airport, Gatwick.
The airline said it would move its flying programme at Gatwick to the city’s bigger Heathrow airport, but intended to keep its slots at Gatwick to allow it to return if customer demand rebounded.
British Airways has also suspended operations at Gatwick and has told pilots there is no certainty over when those services might return.
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