Due to the development of the ongoing coronavirus crisis and its impact on the global aviation sector, airBaltic has made a decision to temporarily decrease its overall capacity by a further 30% and to temporarily reduce its fleet to a total of 22 operating aircraft between March 29 and May 31, 2020. The move will see the airline cancel more than 2,000 flights.
“The health and safety of our employees and the public is airBaltic’s highest priority,” said Martin Gauss,airBaltic’s CEO. “The situation is changing very quickly, and we are forced to make some hard but necessary decisions. For now, we have reduced the capacity and cancelled flights, unfortunately we have to temporally reduce our team as the scale of operation is decreasing significantly. These are temporary measures during the crisis, and we need to be ready to get back on our growth path once the situation improves.”
In line with network adjustments, airBaltic is also having to temporarily reduce the number of its employees by up to 400. The company will seek voluntary solutions, unpaid leave, non-extension of probation time and termination.
However, the airline was also quick to point out that it has a well-developed crisis plan. Since 28 February, an action group C19AG has been established at the company, which regularly evaluates the latest situation to ensure it takes the necessary measures.
