Low-cost carrier EasyJet it to close its bases at the London airports of Stansted and Southend, as well as Newcastle, as it cuts its UK network to counter lower levels of demand. The carrier had at the end of June warned the three base closures were under consideration as part of its cost-cutting efforts to counter reduced demand following the coronavirus pandemic. EasyJet will cease its base operations from all three UK airports from the end of August - though it will continue some flights from both Stansted and Newcastle. Airline chief executive Johan Lundgren says: ”We have had to take the very difficult decision to close three UK bases as a result of the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and related travel restrictions, compounded by quarantine measures in the UK which is impacting demand for travel. “Working closely with our employee representatives, I am pleased that we have been able to identify ways to significantly reduce the number of proposed compulsory redundancies through providing enhanced voluntary redundancy packages for all UK crew alongside additional options like part time and seasonal contracts, base transfers and unpaid leave which we expect to result in reducing the number of job losses overall.” Confirmation of the three UK base closures follows the completion of a collective consultation process and the airline says it will now work with unions on the next steps. The airline says it has reached agreement with Unite on voluntary redundancy terms and selection criteria for impacted cabin crew and that individual consultation with cabin crew continues. “We remain committed to working with pilots union BALPA on the next phase which includes the voluntary redundancy and individual consultation process,” the airline says. BALPA, however, hit out at the airline for “unilaterally shutting down formal redundancy talks” which have been in progress aimed at mitigating the need for compulsory redundancies. The union says talks ”had appeared to be going well”, that further talks were planned and that there was “no warning” EasyJet would take this step. BALPA general secretary Brian Strutton says: ”We have a previously scheduled meeting with easyJet management tomorrow which we plan to attend to give easyJet a final chance to change course. Following that we will consult with our members on how they want to proceed.” Relations between the airline and its the pilots have become increasingly strained. Last month more than 2,000 of EasyJet’s pilots voted to express no confidence in the airline’s chief operating officer, Peter Bellew, in what BALPA described as a “serious and widening rift” between crewmembers and management. How base closures impact EasyJet network Stansted is the biggest of the impacted operations. Cirium schedules data shows EasyJet operated 19 routes from the London airport in January, before the pandemic hit. EasyJet will continue four routes from the north London airport, serving UK domestic routes to Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as Amsterdam. EasyJet opened its base at Southend in 2012 and was operating 14 routes from the east London airport in January this, Cirium data shows, It was the second biggest operator at Southend. The carrier has a much larger presence at the London airports of Gatwick - its biggest base - and Luton, where it has its headquarters. EasyJet opened its Newcastle base in 2002. Cirium schedules data shows the carrier was operating nine routes from Newcastle in January, immediately prior to the crisis. It plans to continue flights from Newcastle to Belfast, Bristol and NIce. But it means routings to six leisure destinations have been dropped. The closing of the three operations means EasyJet will operate eight bases in the UK. To counter the impact of the pandemic EasyJet embarked on a restructuring scheme to bring costs down in line with projected demand – including cutting up to 30% of its workforce.

Source: Cirium

European safety authorities are warning of a spate of incidents linked to contamination of pitot-static ports as aircraft are returned to service following temporary storage. Thousands of aircraft have been parked for extended periods as a result of the air transport crisis, but the European Union Aviation Safety Agency believes several have been put back into operation in a non-airworthy condition. EASA says it has observed an “alarming trend” in the number of reports of unreliable airspeed or altitude indications – the result of contaminated air-data systems – during the first flight of aircraft that have been retrieved from storage. These indications have resulted in incidents including rejected take-offs or in-flight turnbacks. “Most of the reported events concerned the accumulation of foreign objects, such as insect nests, in the pitot-static system,” says EASA. 'This contamination caused obstruction of pitot probe and static-port orifices, in some cases on multiple systems, even when the covers were installed.” The risk of pitot-static contamination was higher on aircraft for which storage, or return-to-service, procedures had either not been completed or been incorrectly carried out in the first place. “Pitot-static systems provide flight-critical air-data information,” adds EASA. “It is very important that the maintenance instructions…are strictly applied.” While the situation does not warrant mandatory airworthiness directive action, the authority is urging maintenance organisations to carry out careful cleaning and inspection of pitot-static systems for aircraft being retrieved from storage, and seek advice on contamination if necessary.

Source: Cirium

Cockpit union efforts to dissuade UK holiday carrier Jet2 from shedding over 100 pilots across its various bases appear to have failed. Jet2 had warned a few weeks ago that it was looking at cutting pilot numbers after reducing its activity in the face of the air transport downturn. Pilot union BALPA claims the airline, based at Leeds-Bradford airport, is “insisting” on 102 redundancies. Jet2 is part of Dart Group. The cockpit union says the airline has turned down a number of proposals intended to save jobs. The carrier had stepped in to recruit over 50 pilots and some 40 cabin crew, among other personnel, from leisure company Thomas Cook Group which collapsed last year. et2 has bases at several UK airports including Belfast, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham. BALPA general secretary Brian Strutton says the government has a “significant role” to play to support UK aviation. “Its quarantine changes keep throwing every restart plan into chaos,” he adds. Jet2 has been prioritising cash preservation and has taken several steps to reinforce its liquidity position since the crisis engulfed the industry. These measures have included taking advantage of the government’s corporate financing facility for companies hit by the coronavirus situation, to use as standby funding. Dart Group has conducted a share placement – which was oversubscribed – to raise additional liquidity, and has disposed of its logistics firm Fowler Welch. Jet2 is confident that it will have a “thriving future” as the leisure travel market gradually recovers.