We face an unprecedented crisis in air travel

Virgin Atlantic has announced a series of tough measures to help it cope with the falling passenger numbers because of COVID-19.

Virgin has announced that, among other measures it will be reducing schedules and is asking staff to take unpaid leave. Some redundancies may also be required.

Mike Clancy, Prospect General Secretary, commenting on the Virgin announcement of its response to COVID-19, said:

“This news from Virgin is extremely worrying for anyone working for the company but also for the whole industry.

“We face an unprecedented crisis in air travel and drastic measures are having to be taken to try and ensure some kind of future for the industry. It is hard to see a situation where some form of government intervention and international support will not be required.

“Prospect is working closely with airports, airlines and air traffic to mitigate as far as possible the impact of the current crisis and we stand ready to support our members in any way we can.

“In addition, Prospect and other Unions raised these issues with the Department for Transport on Monday and received a commitment of continuous engagement throughout this difficult period. ”