Icelandair to lay off 24 pilots on MAX grounding; cancels hiring plans

Icelandair will lay off 24 pilots and will not be hiring 21 new pilots, because of the ongoing worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX. The Keflavik-based carrier has a total commitment for 16 MAXs, scheduled for delivery through 2021. “We have not made any changes to our order,” an Icelandair spokeswoman said. She added that Icelandair had three Boeing 737 MAXs in operation when the type was taken out of service and was expecting to grow that fleet to nine this year. “Unfortunately, we have had to end the employment of 24 pilots that joined Icelandair last autumn and had already started working as pilots on the Boeing 737 MAX before its suspension. In addition, a decision was made to cancel the plans of hiring 21 new pilots that have been in training on the MAX. This decision was made as it is expected that the suspension of the 737 MAX aircraft will last longer than anticipated and we have made changes to our flight schedule until Sept. 15 to reflect that,” the Icelandair spokeswoman said. She added that Icelandair is hoping to rehire the pilots once it has better clarity on how the MAX situation will develop.<br/>