EASYJET COMPANY CLOSES THREE AIRBASES AND LAYS OFF ONE THIRD OF EMPLOYEES

The British airline EasyJet made a decision to close its three bases at the country's airports. This information was released by BALPA (Association of Pilots of British Airlines). The representatives of the association noted that the closure of the bases would lead to a dismissal of 727 pilots, currently working for EasyJet. In particular, the company announced its intention to close the bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle airports.

The professional association that defended the interests of pilots got shocked by the threat of mass layoffs. In fact, this means that about a third of pilots will be unemployed out of 2,100 personnel.

The company will have to cut down the number of air liners, thereby adapting to the new conditions of the air transportation market, which is being formed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to BALPA’s CEO Brian Stratton, this state of affairs of the British civil aviation can be called a deadly "spiral of despair." And although the association continues to urge the UK government to intervene and develop an anti-crisis strategy, the path for the entire aviation industry in the country remains to be vague. Previously, the company has already announced its intention to lay off 4.5 thousand employees, reducing the number of aircraft by 15%.  

The CEO of EasyJet, Johan Lundgren, told the public that the company remained committed to the long-term success and would protect jobs. However, how this will affect the employees of the air bases that are about to be closed, is not yet clear.

The airports will continue to be part of the company's route network, but the flights will be operated at other European bases.

We should recall that both Stansted and Newcastle are the bases that were created in the late 1990s by Go Company, a budget branch of British Airways, subsequently acquired by EasyJet. The low-cost airline has recently moved to Southend Airport, having expanded the airport itself, which served as a freer transshipment point, while other London airports were crowded.

EasyJet currently has 11 bases in the UK. The experts note that the closure of three of them may reflect a retreat strategy, followed by a low-cost carrier due to the competition with another low-cost airline, Ryanair. The latter clearly dominates at the Stansted Airport, and is present at Southend.

It is known that the company has resumed domestic and international communications from July 1, observing the necessary security measures.

Half of the routes are planned to be resumed in July, and by August the company intends to increase the number of flights to 75% of the level that was before the pandemic. Despite the support of the state, a drop in demand forces the company’s management to take desperate measures.