Virgin Atlantic announced today (05/05) a series of changes to face the impacts of the current crisis.
The company will concentrate most of its flights at Heathrow Airport, still in London, but abandoning operations at Gatwick Airport.
However, Virgin says it "intends to keep its portfolio of slots at London Gatwick so it can return to customer demand".
Another change is the immediate retirement of the Boeing 747-400, previously the company expected to receive more Airbus A350-1000 planes to replace the jumbo jets. In this way, Virgin Atlantic abandons operations with the aircraft that started its flights.
And to make matters worse, the company will need to cut 3150 employees from its workforce. Due to its size reduction, and in the end to save money.
Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss stated: “I wish that wasn't the case, but we will have to reduce the number of people we employ. The commitment of our people during this crisis has been nothing short of astounding and the embodiment of the true spirit of the Virgin. As we navigated through the Covid-19 crisis, I was humbled at every turn by their solidarity. In times of adversity, we must each other so that we can finally emerge a stronger and better Virgin Atlantic.”
