BA chief executive Alex Cruz said that the airline’s survival is hinging on “parking aircraft in a way we never have before.” They are far from the only airline to feel the impact of the coronavirus crisis. We reported yesterday that KLM will slash up to 2,000 jobs as flights are cut across the board.
Meanwhile, German carrier Lufthansa - which operates a lot of transatlantic flights, and so is feeling the impact of Trump’s ban on European travellers - is set to ask Angela Merkel to intervene.
Norwegian air is also in talks with its government, after having cut some 4,000 flights and has announced that it will be laying off up to half of its staff in the midst of this crisis.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has sent out a more hopeful message, saying that the airline has “emerged stronger” from previous crises and that they have enhanced their “overnight cleaning with every aircraft interior being treated with hospital-grade disinfectant.” The message did not include any information on flight cuts outside of Italy, nor staff layoffs - though this may well come.
