Air Canada announces job cuts, slashing capacity
Air Canada is cutting 1,700 mainline jobs, and slashing capacity, blaming it on Canada’s new pre-travel testing requirements for inbound travelers.
The airline says the testing program had an ‘immediate impact’ on the company’s booking volume when it was introduced a week ago.
"We have made the difficult but necessary decision to further adjust our schedule and rationalize our transborder, Caribbean and domestic routes," said Air Canada’s Executive Vice President, Lucie Guillemette.
It is cutting capacity by about 25% in the first quarter of this year.
It includes suspending all flights to Labrador on the Atlantic coast.
The capacity cuts will result in the loss of 1,700 jobs at the airline, as well as an additional 200 positions at Air Canada Express.
The office of new Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government is ‘disappointed’ with the cuts as it is in the process of ‘developing a package of assistance to the Canadian airline industry.’
"Before we spend one penny of taxpayer money on airlines, we will ensure that Canadians get their refunds, and regional communities retain air connections to the rest of Canada," a ministry spokesperson said.
Mike McNaney, President and CEO of the National Airlines Council of Canada said the latest capacity cuts is endangering air connectivity to many remote regional locations
"These announcements capture the stark reality that we are losing connectivity and service to communities across Canada at a rate that threatens to unwind billions of dollars in investment made over the past ten years," McNaney said.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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