The subsidiary of Lufthansa, Swiss International is taking half of the fleet out of service and also reduce the working hours for the flight personnel with the aim to help safeguard the finances amid the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak. The organisation released a statement on Friday which read, "To compensate for the sharp fall in demand and resultant lost revenue, SWISS has decided to take immediate further precautionary action to secure liquidity."
The payout of the variable salary components will get postponed to the end of the year for the flying personnel as well as the senior management, the airline mentioned while adding that all recruitment besides apprentices and also the interns will also be halted along with the suspension of all non-essential projects.
Major airlines are discussing with governments about financial assistance
Major US and European airlines have begun discussions with governments on obtaining financial assistance to weather a crippling travel slump brought on by the coronavirus, which has hobbled global travel and is threatening thousands of industry jobs.
Parent group Lufthansa on Friday said it would scrap its annual dividend, slash its flight schedule further and was also considering a request for state aid to help it deal with the impact of the virus outbreak. Swiss said it was in contact with authorities and would initially apply for short-time working hours for cockpit and cabin staff, and was also considering such measures for workers on the ground.
(With agency inputs)
