Nearly one third of Loganair jobs could go under 'worst case scenario'

Another 165 jobs are at risk at Loganair on top of 92 which have just gone, the Glasgow-based airline confirmed today.

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said the job reduction figure was a "worst-case scenario"

The total of 257 would amount to more than 30 per cent of the firm’s workforce of 850.

The Unite union described the news as “absolutely shattering” but Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said it was a “worst-case scenario” if there was no post-Covid recovery next spring.

The union said 70 of 342 jobs were at risk at Glasgow Airport, 49 of 153 at Aberdeen, 26 of 74 at Edinburgh and 20 of 53 at Inverness.

Loganair flies to the Northern and Western Isles as well as destinations elsewhere in the UK and Scandinavia

Loganair said there had already been 68 redundancies and early retirements over the last two months.

However, confidence in airlines increased this week with news of a vaccine that saw share prices soaring.

Loganair could also potentially stand to gain by continuing its expansion of routes to other parts of the UK, filling in gaps left by the collapse of Flybe in March.

Unite has called for the airline to use the UK Government’s five-month extension of the furlough scheme to the end of March to avert the job losses.

Industrial officer Pat McIlvogue said: “The news of a further 165 jobs potentially at immediate risk in addition to the jobs which Loganair has already served notice on is absolutely shattering.

"But we believe that by working together we can mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies if we have positive engagement with Loganair.

"It’s essential we explore and utilise all of the levers available to save jobs including the extension of the job retention scheme.

"Unite has repeatedly urged the Scottish Government to give greater support to an industry on life support and this announcement should send shock waves through the transport ministry that far more needs to be done.”

Mr Hinkles said: “The latest round of Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions UK-wide has led to the recovery from the pandemic being later, and slower, than could reasonably have been expected three months ago.

“The impact of this has been felt throughout the economy, but particularly acutely in the aviation sector.

"The [UK] Government’s extended furlough programme is helpful in cushioning the impact over the coming winter, but we are mindful that a recovery next year is uncertain.

“We’ve therefore started formal consultations with our employee groups around what options are open to us should the recovery, for which we all hope, either fail to materialise or take longer to come through.

“Discussions are at an early stage, and both we and our employee groups are keen to avoid the need for any further redundancies in Loganair, albeit unfortunately we cannot absolutely rule out that possibility.”

“We will be using the furlough programme to support as many jobs as possible over the winter months, and all of our employees and union representatives are aware of this.

"We’re engaged in discussions about what happens if there is no upturn next spring, and the number reported by Unite is the worst case scenario if that happens.

"We’ve put forward a number of options to avoid redundancies and have had an excellent response to those ideas in a company-wide survey from Loganair’s dedicated team of staff.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article.

We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.