Emirates lays off more pilots, cabin crew

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Continuing the streamlining process of its workforce amid tough times for the aviation industry, Emirates Airlines has again laid off more employees, including pilots and cabin crew, sources said.

In June, the Dubai-based airline major had laid off pilots and cabin crew. People in the know said that more such retrenchment measures are likely.

An Emirates spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we are still in the process of implementing the redundancy exercise across our Group, as previously communicated."

While the airline has slowly restarted operations wherever it is safe and commercially viable, the spokesperson said that its current footprint is significantly smaller than before and it will take a while for it to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

Noting that like other airlines and travel companies, Covid-19 has hit the airline hard, the spokesperson said that as a responsible business, it must "right-size" its workforce in line with its reduced operational requirements.

"Our people have always been a big contributing factor to our success, so this is not an action that we relish, nor one that we take lightly. We continue to take every possible action to reduce costs, restore revenue streams, and preserve jobs," said the spokesperson.

The sector has been one of the worst hit during the pandemic and worldwide lockdown and several airlines have taken to job cuts. Several airlines globally have even gone bankrupt amidst the pandemic.