Heathrow airport said it has begun to restructure its
frontline roles as a “grim picture” for passenger numbers is set to continue
thanks to the UK government’s new quarantine rules for international
travellers.
The airport, which has already cut a third of managerial
roles in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, said a dramatic drop in traffic
has made its employment levels ‘unsustainable’. In May, passenger numbers at
the normally busy hub were down 97 per cent compared to 2019, while cargo, the
bulk of which is carried in the belly hold of commercial aircraft, was down 40 per
cent.
CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “Throughout this crisis, we have
tried to protect frontline jobs, but this is no longer sustainable, and we have
now agreed a voluntary severance scheme with our union partners. While we cannot
rule out further job reductions, we will continue to explore options to minimise
the number of job losses.”
Heathrow is one of hundreds of tourism companies campaigning
for the government to ease the 14-day quarantine restrictions by establishing travel
corridors with countries that have a low coronavirus infection rate in order to
speed up the nation’s economic recovery. It is also calling for a 12-month
waiver in business rates for all airports in England and Wales after similar
support measures were announced in Scotland and Northern Ireland and for the UK’s
hospitality and leisure sector.
The airport has not confirmed how many employees are
affected by the job cuts.