BA is proposing to outsource work being done by at least 450 employees it is making redundant. The Labour party said the proposals were “disturbing news” and called for the government to scrutinise the plans, revealed by the Guardian. The airline is also considering closing its operation at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 completely and shrinking its footprint at Terminal 5, the Guardian understands. Terminal 3 – which operates BA short-haul routes across Europe and long-haul destinations including Cape Town and Miami – carried about 15% of BA’s Heathrow traffic before the pandemic. Terminal 3 has been mothballed during lockdown, with all BA flights running from Terminal 5 on dramatically reduced schedules. BA, which has received state aid worth hundreds of millions of pounds, proposed cutting as many as 12,000 jobs last month in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the thousands of job cuts, the proposals include plans to make at least 450 workers at Heathrow redundant before outsourcing the work they did, according to a person with knowledge of the proposals. However, the proposals to outsource the jobs of furloughed workers performing operations still required by the airline prompted criticism. Jim McMahon, the shadow transport secretary, said: “The government should have done more to protect these jobs. We cannot see roles which are currently paid through the job retention scheme outsourced.”<br/>
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LATAM Airlines had losses of $2.12b in Q1 after an accounting adjustment of its assets amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company said Friday. LATAM said its operational quarterly result was 17% higher year-on-year despite the fact that in March it reduced its offer of flights due to the first effects of the health crisis. The firm mainly attributed the loss to a goodwill impairment loss of $1.73b as a result of the pandemic, the statement said. “The accounting loss is a natural consequence of the impact that COVID-19 has had over the entire industry, where inevitably the assets of airlines are devalued due to the impossibility of operating,” CEO Roberto Alvo said. Revenue from ordinary activities fell 6.8% to $2.266b between January and March. <br/>
Cathay Pacific said Saturday that the reopening of transit services for passengers at Hong Kong International Airport from June 1 will not include those travelling to and from mainland China. Hong Kong CE Carrie Lam announced earlier this week that some transit passengers would be allowed through the hub from Monday, but did not provide further details. Transit through the airport has been barred since March 25 as part of measures taken to help control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Cathay said travellers could transit Hong Kong if their itinerary was on a single booking and the connection time to the next flight was within eight hours. "In this first phase, transiting to and from destinations in mainland China is not available," the airline said on its website.<br/>