British low cost airline easyJet said it had grounded its entire fleet and reached a deal with its cabin crew for employees to be furloughed for two months.
Joe Davies reports.
EasyJet grounds fleet, furloughs crew for two months
British low cost airline EasyJet has grounded its entire fleet of more than 330 aircraft, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit the industry hard.
On Monday (March 30), the airline said it would furlough its 4,000 UK-based cabin crew for two months.
It means they won't work from April 1 but will be paid 80% of their average pay under a government job retention scheme.
The company said it's focused on short term liquidity.
It wants to remove costs from the business and work with suppliers to defer and reduce payments where possible.
EasyJet said grounding its aircraft removed significant cost.
In a statement, it said it had struck a deal with the union Unite to furlough cabin crew.
Talks about a similar deal for pilots are continuing with the UK pilots union, BALPA.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought European air travel to a standstill, meaning airlines have no revenues and face a battle to survive.
Some UK airlines had been hoping for an airline specific state aid package.
But the UK government told them last week it'll only consider stepping in once they'd exhausted all other possible options, such as raising capital from existing investors.