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BALPA unaware of BA’s threat to pull out of Gatwick
Pilots union BALPA has questioned reports that BA will cease flying from Gatwick even after the coronavirus pandemic has passed.
Reports emerged on Thursday claiming a letter has been sent to staff warning that BA’s Gatwick operation might not re-open post Covid-19.
BALPA general secretary Brian Strutton said: "As far as BALPA is aware there is no truth in the rumour that British Airways will pull out of Gatwick and there has been no indication of that from BA to us. However, it is on our list of questions to ask them."
He said BALPA will fight to save every pilot job at BA.
"The company has declined Government support claiming it is financially secure enough to survive the coronavirus crisis, so it is hard to see how these cuts can be justified," he said.
"There are many options to ensure BA can continue its business and survive coronavirus and BALPA does not accept that job losses are the only answer. Pilots want evidence that all options have been explored fully."
BA flies to several leisure destinations from Gatwick, including Milan, Corfu, Dalaman and Antalya.
Earlier this week BA announced plans to make 12,000 staff redundant.
The plans were dismissed as ‘unlawful’ by Unite the union, which called on CEO Alex Cruz to reconsider.
Unite said the move undermines the efforts of the union and the aviation industry to secure a financial package from the UK Government for the entire sector.
It is calling on the UK Government to provide loans or take stakes in airlines to help them survive the pandemic fall-out.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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