CHICAGO: Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is set to lay off 1,941 pilots in October due to fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and the sharp drop in air travel.
“We are simply overstaffed and we are faced with an incredibly difficult decision,” Delta’s head of flight operations John Laughter said in a memo to employees. “We are six months into this pandemic and only 25 per cent of our revenues have been recovered. Unfortunately, we see few catalysts over the next six months to meaningful change this trajectory.”
Delta had originally estimated a surplus of 2,558 pilots but reduced the final number of involuntary furloughs following take-up for early retirement and voluntary departure programmes. Based on network projections, Laughter said Delta would need some 9,450 active pilots for the summer 2021 schedule, which the carrier expects would be the peak flying period for the next 12 to 18 months.
American Airlines and United Airlines have warned they could potentially cull more than 60,000 jobs in October.