Irish carrier Aer Lingus is warning it expects to cut up to 500 jobs citing the ”catastrophic effect” the coronavirus crisis is having on the aviation industry.
The IAG-owned carrier has issued a formal notification to the Irish employment minister regarding proposed redundancies.
”Aer Lingus has informed the minister that headcount reductions of up to 500 employees across the business are anticipated,” the airline says in a statement. ”Aer Lingus is now commencing the required consultation process with employee representative organisations.”
The Irish carrier says it is operating less than 5% of its normal schedule and has no certainty regarding the restoration of services or the subsequent demand for air travel.
But it also hit out at quarantine measures in Ireland. ”The situation is exacerbated in Ireland by the 14-day quarantine requirement for arriving passengers and travel advisories which advise against all non-essential travel,” the airline says.
”Ireland has failed to take steps that other European [Union] member states have taken – they have progressively restored transport services and connectivity in response to a European Commission invitation to do so,” the airline says.
The European Commission earlier this month recommended all Schengen member and associated states lift internal border controls as of 15 June.
Another IAG carrier British Airways has previously warned up to 12,000 jobs were at risk as a result of the crisis, while its Austrian unit Level Europe on 18 June filed for insolvency.
