More than a third of American Airlines pilots and flight attendants will take voluntary leave or retire in April or May, helping the carrier deal with an excess of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is offering voluntary leave to 4,800 pilots for April or May, while another 715 will be given early retirement with partial pay and full benefits. The figures include 1,500 pilots who were granted voluntary leave for April and were announced to employees last week. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said about 7,960 members signed up for voluntary leave or early retirement out of 25,300 total. About 7,200 flight attendants signed up for 3, 6, or 12-month leaves and about 760 will take early retirement. Both leave and retirement would start in May. <br/>
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Qantas staff are exploring options, including a class action alleging the airline failed to adequately protect them against Covid 19, after more than 59 employees became infected along with some family members. The Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia has begun exploring possible legal avenues for staff, amid deep dissatisfaction about the way in which Qantas has handled what they say are the risks, particularly to cabin crew. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has now acknowledged that international cabin crew face a higher risk and issued new guidance to the airlines, as Qantas gears up to begin limited scheduled international flights to Los Angeles, London, Auckland and Hong Kong. <br/>
LATAM, is suspending all international flights until May because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Because of the health restrictions imposed by various countries, as well as the continuing fall in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, regular international passenger operations will be suspended from April 13 to 30," the company said. It said it would continue operating domestic flights in Brazil and Chile "to the extent that there is demand." The airline had previously announced it was scaling back its operations this month by 95% in response to the global health crisis. LATAM normally flies to 145 destinations in 26 countries, with around 1,400 flights a day. <br/>