Gatwick Airport is planning to axe up to 600 jobs in a ‘signifcant restructure’ after feeling the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on passenger and air traffic numbers.
The airport is operating at around 20 per cent of its capacity and has around 75 per cent of its staff on furlough.
Consultations have begun with staff over redundancies, as it prepares to cut up to 24 per cent of its workforce.
In March the airport, which is only operating its North Terminal, secured a £300million loan to secure it after flights were grounded by Covid-19.
Quarantine measures from tourist hotspots have damaged hopes of a summer of recovery for the airline industry, with redundancies reported at airlines including Ryanair, BA, Virgin and Jet2.
Gatwick Airport is set to make up to 600 people redundancy after struggling to cope financially during the Covid-19 pandemic
North Terminal logo is pictured on the outside of a liftshaft at a deserted London Gatwick Airport near Crawley after the airport announced the loss of 600 jobs this afternoon
In a statement the airport said it was restructuring to ‘further reduce operating and staff costs in light of the dramatic impact COVID-19 has had on its passenger and air traffic numbers’.
Gatwick Airport, Chief Executive Officer, Stewart Wingate said: ‘If anyone is in any doubt about the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on the aviation and travel industry then today’s news we have shared with our staff, regarding the proposed job losses, is a stark reminder.
‘We are in ongoing talks with Government to see what sector specific support can be put in place for the industry at this time, alongside mechanisms which will give our passengers greater certainty on where and when they can safely travel abroad.
‘This support will not only help Gatwick but the wider regional economy which relies on the airport.
‘I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff, those who have worked tirelessly to keep Gatwick open throughout the pandemic and those who have had to remain on furlough, for their dedicated tenacity, professionalism and team spirit. We will continue to do all we can to preserve as many jobs as possible.
‘Gatwick will recover from this pandemic and we will emerge from the restructuring we are proposing a fitter and stronger organisation which is best placed to offer our passengers and our airlines a modern and innovative airport, ready for growth.’
British Airways, which grounded its Gatwick fleet in March following the outbreak of Covid-19, had said that all short-haul flights from Gatwick will be consolidated into Heathrow until at least September.
BA itself announced it would be forced to cut hundreds of jobs at Gatwick in a bid to stay afloat during the fallout of the coronavirus.
It comes after Airbus, Europe’s biggest aircraft maker, announced plans to slash nearly 15,000 jobs across its global operations – including 1,700 in the UK.
British Airways, which grounded its Gatwick fleet in March and has announced hundreds of job losses, had said that all short-haul flights from Gatwick will be consolidated into Heathrow
Meanwhile EasyJet said 4,500 jobs were at risk and Ryanair threatened to cut 3,500 jobs if pilots and cabin crew don’t agree to pay cuts last month.
EasyJet recently announced it wants to close three of its airport bases, Stansted, Newcastle and Southend, with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Both Stansted and Newcastle were established in the late 1990s and added its second base in Essex at Southend Airport more recently.
But the collapse in passenger numbers, caused by the pandemic, means easyJet bosses are predicting figures won’t return to normal until at least 2023.
Ryanair, Europe’s biggest budget airline, said it had already cut 250 office staff around the continent.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, said the aviation industry had suffered the ‘worst downturn we have ever had in our 100-year industry.’
He told Good Morning Britain: ‘After 9/11, the last great shock to the airline industry, flights were grounded for four days.
‘So far with this pandemic we’ve been grounded for almost four months across the UK and Europe, so this is historic.’
The chief executive of Cardiff Airport has joined calls for additional government support to help the aviation industry through and post the Covid-19 crisis.
Wales’ only commercial airport has seen its daily flight numbers drop from 40 to eight during the pandemic and passenger numbers are down 97 per cent.
Spencer Birns said: ‘This significant drop in passenger travel is the same for many UK regional airports, as airlines and customers face the challenge of frequently changing UK Government travel advice.
‘The FCO travel guidance advising against ‘all but essential’ travel to the largest tourism markets in Europe, plus subsequent quarantine measures, will continue to slow the aviation industry recovery.
‘It is imperative that the UK Government creates the right market conditions for airlines to operate.
‘Furthermore, it is urgent and critical that the UK Government provides substantial incentives to support the aviation sector, in order to help kick start business, or risk more airlines going out of business and airports starting to close down as a result.’