Covid has left easyJet 'hanging by thread', union official tells staff

The coronavirus pandemic has left easyJet “hanging by a thread” and at risk of going under without a summer resurgence of passenger numbers, a union official told pilots during talks over potential redundancies. In a conference call with staff, a recording of which was passed to the Guardian, pilots’ union official Martin Entwisle said: “If easyJet don’t have a good summer and make money next summer, I suspect none of us will have a job this time next year.” He said he was speaking following a briefing with the company’s chief financial officer, Andrew Findlay, union officials and other members of the management team. Entwisle told pilots that Findlay had warned that the company’s situation was “even worse than their worst fears”. “The easiest way to put it is: the company is hanging by a thread.” EasyJet strenuously denied Entwisle’s characterisation of his discussion with Findlay, saying it was not representative of the discussion. “The recording does not reflect what easyJet or its chief financial officer said,” the company said. “We have been clear the whole industry has been impacted by the pandemic, however easyJet has taken a prudent approach to capacity and the right actions on cash preservation. The airline continues to keep all liquidity options under review, but no decisions have been taken. Winter flying is always significantly lower than summer and easyJet will continue with its prudent and dynamic approach to capacity over the winter. No decisions have been taken and we will update the market in due course. As we said at our recent trading update, changing restrictions and quarantine requirements continue to impact consumer confidence to book travel so we continue to call on the UK government for sector specific support.”<br/>