With the aviation industry in meltdown due to COVIS-19, it is not only international airlines that are affected, but also those serving primarily domestic routes – including Scotland’s Loganair, which on Wednesday announced a dramatic reduction in its services.
Chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: "The coronavirus situation has worsened materially in the past four days, and we have now seen forward bookings fall by around 75% versus their usual levels."
The airline is implementing an emergency timetable of 95 scheduled flights each weekday – down from 214, a cut of 55%.
Cancelled until 31 May are all international services to/from Norway, Germany, Denmark and Republic of Ireland. On the domestic front, the same applies to Edinburgh – Norwich and Glasgow – Exeter. Wick – Edinburgh has been permanently withdrawn.
Hinkles revealed he has asked staff to consider a range of measures aimed at protecting employment, including reducing working hours by 20% and accepting a 20% reduction in salary as a result, or taking a period of unpaid leave.
It is expected a quarter of Loganair’s fleet of 40 aircraft will be put into temporary storage as a result of the reductions.
All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum