VIRGIN Atlantic has become the latest airline to signal swingeing jobs cuts with the announcement of more than 3,000 redundancies.
It follows similar moves by British Airways which said it expects to lay off 12,000 and Ryanair which also said around 3,000 would lose their jobs as the coronavirus crisis has grounded planes across the world.
Virgin said it will reduce its workforce by 3,150 people, the equivalent to more than a 30 per cent cut.
It comes as Ryanair said it flew just 40,000 passengers last month. It saw the number of passengers flown collapse 99.6% from 13.5 million a year ago after flights were halted to help slow the spread of the pandemic.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic to cut more than 3,000 jobs
Budget European airline Wizz Air said it reopened its bases in London Luton and Vienna on May 1 but it operated at less than 3% of its capacity in April, including 71 cargo flights with medical equipment and 28 rescue flights.
It carried just 78,389 passengers last month, down 97.6% from 3.3 million a year ago.
Virgin Atlantic’s flights from Gatwick - grounded due to the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic - will not restart. Some routes will be switched to Heathrow.
Its other UK locations are Manchester and Swansea.
READ MORE: Virgin Atlantic needs Government support to survive – Sir Richard Branson
Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic, chief executive, said the carrier must take steps to “reduce our costs, preserve cash and to protect as many jobs as possible”.
He added: “I wish it was not the case, but we will have to reduce the number of people we employ.”
Virgin said talks with the Government about additional funding during the lockdown are ongoing.
Founder Sir Richard Branson earlier warned the carrier will collapse unless it receives Government support. Brian Strutton, general secretary of pilots’ union Balpa, said: “Our members and all staff in Virgin Atlantic will be shocked by the scale of this.”
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