Airlines, airports and ground handlers are demanding a flexible end to the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in aviation, warning of “significant redundancies” without it.
Industry associations Airlines UK and the Airport Operators Association (AOA) joined ground handlers Swissport, WFS, Dnata and Menzies Aviation to write to Chancellor Rishi Sunak today “to stress the absolute necessity of a flexible or tapered end” to the scheme.
This would avoid “triggering redundancies, many of which will be unnecessary and premature”, they said.
Failing to do so “would create an artificial cliff-edge moment where we have to decide to return everyone to businesses with unaffordable wage bills or spend tens of millions on unnecessary redundancy payments”.
This would “needlessly make trained, certified and experienced staff redundant who we will need when the upturn finally arrives”, they said.
The aviation leaders warned: “We will not be in a position to return all furloughed staff to work at the current scheme end date
“We will likely be forced to make a significant number of the redundancies the scheme was designed to avoid.
“We are therefore asking the government to extend the current scheme for a few more months.
“Thereafter, we recommend a tapered withdrawal of the scheme, allowing us to return staff to full employment as our sector begins to recover.”
They argued: “Tapering would be simple to administer by decreasing the number of furloughed employees supported by the government using a fixed monthly percentage.”
The groups acknowledged the scheme had been “a lifeline” for the sector, noting: “We currently have tens of thousands of staff furloughed.”
They told the Chancellor: “We would be grateful for the urgent opportunity to present our case in more detail to your team.”
