Virgin Atlantic to suspend Gatwick operations

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

In response to the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy Virgin Atlantic will downsize its business and expects a recovery in aviation traffic to pre-crisis levels to take up to three years.

A number of job losses have been announced, with 3,150 roles to go across the carrier.

 The airline is working  closely with unions BALPA and Unite, a company-wide consultation period of 45 days has begun.

 While the new, small Virgin Atlantic is expected to fly only wide-body, twin-engine aircraft from London Heathrow and Manchester to the most popular destinations.

The carrier will no longer use its seven 747-400s, with four A330-200 aircraft retiring in early 2022 as planned. 

By 2022 the simplified fleet will comprise of 36 twin engine aircraft – down from 45 planes today.

Virgin Atlantic said it would move its Gatwick operation to Heathrow and temporarily suspend flights from the south London airport.

But the airline intends to retain its slot portfolio at Gatwick, so a return can be made in line with customer demand.

As per figures, Virgin currently holds two per cent of capacity at Gatwick.

Majorly the  carrier uses the location for predominantly leisure travel services, to Antigua, Barbados, Havana, Montego Bay, Orlando and St Lucia.

Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic said that they have weathered many storms since our first flight 36 years ago, but none has been as devastating as Covid-19 and the associated loss of life and livelihood for so many.

To safeguard their future and emerge a sustainably profitable business, now is the time for further action to reduce their costs, preserve cash and to protect as many jobs as possible.

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