Heathrow cuts a third of managerial jobs amid "grim picture" going forward

A London airport has cut a third of managerial roles following the “grim picture” that coronavirus has left for the travel industry.

Heathrow Airport reported today that its passenger numbers for May were at an all time low, dropping 97 per cent against the same period last year.

The airport said that as a result, it has begun to “restructure its frontline roles”, which has already prompted a third of managerial roles to be cut, and could see more redundancies in the future.

It commented that the government’s quarantine policy - which requires all arriving passengers to self-isolate for two weeks - will mean that the travel industry will continue to suffer the effects of lockdown after it has been lifted.

Heathrow is also urging the government to establish ‘air bridges’ to low risk countries, which it says will enable the country to restart its economy and will protect livelihoods in aviation and the sectors that rely on it.

John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow, said: “Throughout this crisis, we have tried to protect frontline jobs, but this is no longer sustainable, and we have now agreed a voluntary severance scheme with our union partners.

“While we cannot rule out further job reductions, we will continue to explore options to minimise the number of job losses.”