Atlantic Airways lays off 90 staff

National Faroese airline Atlantic Airways has laid off 90 staff members as a result of COVID-19 impacts.

”We had obviously hoped that the government’s job retention scheme would help us to hold on to our staff members,” Atlantic CEO Jóhanna á Bergi writes in a press release. “But now we are forced to take the next step, which sadly means handing out notices of dismissal to many of our highly valued staff members.”

The 90 staff members will officially vacate their positions on 31 May. The airline’s management and committee will now also review the wage and employment terms of the remaining staff members.

A necessary step

“We are doing this to secure our future competitiveness, and a comprehensive overhaul like this one is of course being carried out in consultation with all relevant parties,” says Bergi.

The layoffs are a direct consequence of the corona lockdown which started two months ago, grounding most of the airline’s flights.

“This is a sad situation, but we are optimistic about the future, hoping that we can eventually start rebuilding our staff capacity over the next years. Right now, we have no choice but to resort to dismissals in our efforts to secure the airline's financial future.”

Translated by prosa.fo