"Due to the unprecedented impact of coronavirus on the demand for air travel, we, like many businesses in our sector and beyond, are having to consider the future of our business," airport chief executive Alberto Martin said."By the end of this year we expect the pandemic will have reduced passenger traffic at the airport by 70% compared to 2019."
Though Luton remains confident the airport will recover "it is difficult to predict the full effect of this pandemic". Forecasts suggest that aviation will not recover to 2019 levels until 2023 or 2024, and in the short-term passenger numbers will be much lower than pre-pandemic levels.
"In response, and with the aim of protecting the long-term future of the airport, we have had to take the difficult but necessary decision to enter a period of consultation from 1 July, placing 250 roles in our business at risk," Martin said. "We intend to consult with those affected in an individual and collective manner."
"This is an extremely challenging period, made all the more difficult given the value we place in our airport family who have had a role to play in the airport’s success," Martin added. "During the consultation we will be working to support our colleagues as much as possible and will be seeking ways to avoid redundancies where possible such as exploring opportunities for alternative employment elsewhere in the business."
Before the crisis struck, Luton invested over 160 million punds to increase capacity to 18 million passengers per year by 2020 - the airport counted 17 million travellers in 2019.
© aero.uk | Image: Luton Airport | 07/07/2020 08:55
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