Having been forced to suspend a majority of their flights to Far East Asia and Southeast Asia owing to the
COVID-19 outbreak, four major airlines—Cathay Pacific, Air China, Emirates and Lufthansa —have asked
their employees to go on unpaid leave for three to four weeks between March and June.
According to reports, Cathay Pacific and its regional subsidiary, Cathay Dragon, had to cut down flights from
1,400 to just 350 in March.
A spokesperson said Cathay Pacific has only appealed to all employees to participate in the special leave scheme (SLS). “They will have the option to take three weeks of unpaid leave in this period.” Cathay CEO Augustus Tang estimated that 25,000 employees—75 per cent of the total strength—would opt for the SLS. The airline has also slashed flight frequencies from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru and till March 28. It has cut Delhi’s flights from 14 to nine, Mumbai from seven to six, Chennai from five to four and Bengaluru from four to three. All five flights from Kolkata stand suspended. Emirates also asked its employees to opt for voluntary unpaid leave of up to a month. Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha said in a statement: “… The knock-on effect of operational changes has resulted in more resources than required in certain areas of the business for our day-to-day requirements.”
Lufthansa, Europe’s second largest airline, said that it will suspend flights to mainland China till April 24, and to Tehran till April 30. It will also reduce frequencies to and from Hong Kong, South Korea and Italy. A spokesperson said Lufthansa is implementing several measures to lower costs, including reassessing, suspending or deferring all new hires. “Lufthansa is also offering employees unpaid leave; the exact arrangement is currently being agreed with the company partners. Furthermore, an expansion of parttime work options in the context of collective bargaining agreements is currently being examined together with the staff committee,” said the spokesperson. 04/03/20 Satish Nandagaonkar/Mumbai Mirror
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A spokesperson said Cathay Pacific has only appealed to all employees to participate in the special leave scheme (SLS). “They will have the option to take three weeks of unpaid leave in this period.” Cathay CEO Augustus Tang estimated that 25,000 employees—75 per cent of the total strength—would opt for the SLS. The airline has also slashed flight frequencies from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru and till March 28. It has cut Delhi’s flights from 14 to nine, Mumbai from seven to six, Chennai from five to four and Bengaluru from four to three. All five flights from Kolkata stand suspended. Emirates also asked its employees to opt for voluntary unpaid leave of up to a month. Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha said in a statement: “… The knock-on effect of operational changes has resulted in more resources than required in certain areas of the business for our day-to-day requirements.”
Lufthansa, Europe’s second largest airline, said that it will suspend flights to mainland China till April 24, and to Tehran till April 30. It will also reduce frequencies to and from Hong Kong, South Korea and Italy. A spokesperson said Lufthansa is implementing several measures to lower costs, including reassessing, suspending or deferring all new hires. “Lufthansa is also offering employees unpaid leave; the exact arrangement is currently being agreed with the company partners. Furthermore, an expansion of parttime work options in the context of collective bargaining agreements is currently being examined together with the staff committee,” said the spokesperson. 04/03/20 Satish Nandagaonkar/Mumbai Mirror
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