Delta will warn pilots about possible
furloughs, offers early retirement
Send a link to a friend
[June 27, 2020]
By Maria Ponnezhath
(Reuters) - Delta Air Lines <DAL.N> said
late on Friday it will soon send warning notices to about 2,500 pilots
regarding possible furloughs at the airline, as the industry takes a
huge blow after the coronavirus pandemic slashed air travel demand. |
Delta Air Lines passenger planes are seen parked due to flight
reductions made to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama,
U.S. March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo |
"In
an effort to best prepare our pilots should furloughs be needed,
Delta will send required notices to approximately 2,500 pilots,"
a Delta spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the
so-called 'WARN' notices will be sent next week.
Delta also reached a tentative agreement with the Air Line
Pilots Association (ALPA) labor union on a pilot-specific
voluntary early retirement option.
The early-out plan is a meaningful step as the carrier is
working to manage the impact of the pandemic and align staffing
with expected flying demand, the statement said.
ALPA did not immediately respond a request for comment after
office hours.
A day ago, Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian had informed
employees in an internal memo that the company is planning to
add about 1,000 flights in August but not many more for the
remainder of 2020.
"While it's encouraging to see flights returning ... we likely
remain at least two years away from a return to normal," Bastian
said in the memo.
(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; editing by Richard
Pullin)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
|