Easyjet offers pilots ‘seasonal’ contracts to stave off job cuts
Pilots at budget carrier Easyjet have been offered six-month long “seasonal” contracts in a bid to stave off sweeping job cuts amid the downturn in air travel.
Up to 727 pilots’ jobs are at risk at the low-cost airline, which has seen passenger demand collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the new offer, pilots would be retained to fly for a six-month period, and then have the rest of the year off.
The airline has offered pilots a number of different arrangements as it seeks to match the number of pilots to demand, which is predicted to remain low for the foreseeable future.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, other options include working for two weeks and then having two weeks off, dropping four days from their normal pattern of 13 fixed days, working for three weeks and then having a week off or unpaid leave lasting from six to 18 months.
A spokesperson for Easyjet said: “As part of its ongoing discussions with Balpa easyJet’s UK pilots have been offered a range of alternative contract options in an effort to mitigate the number of compulsory redundancies and job loses overall.
“Amongst the options that can be selected are voluntary redundancy, part time working and and seasonal contracts along with extended unpaid leave and base transfers.
“Pilots have been asked to submit their preferences in the coming days. These options have been agreed with BALPA”, they added.
In the last quarter, the airline flew just 117,000 passengers, down from 26.4m the year before, as widespread travel bans continue to suffocate the global travel industry.
Easyjet has been hit hard by the government’s decision to make travellers from popular holiday destinations such as Spain, France and Croatia quarantine on their return to the UK.
Although chief executive Johan Lundgren insisted the airline would continue to fly to such destinations if there was sufficient demand, the restrictions have further impacted the carrier’s performance over the usually profitable summer period.
Last week it confirmed it will close its base at Stansted Airport from 1 September, as well as at Newcastle and Southend.