Toronto, January 14 Air Canada, Canada, Canada’s largest airline, announced on January 13 that it would reduce its capacity in the first quarter of this year by another 25%.
This move will lead to the layoff of about 1,700 employees.
Air Canada said that the recent booking situation has been directly affected by more travel restrictions and other measures implemented by federal and provincial governments.
The company had to further adjust its flights and arrange domestic and foreign routes to better adapt to demand and reduce cash consumption.
After this compression of capacity, Air Canada’s capacity in the first quarter of this year will be equivalent to about 20% of the same period in 2019.
Air Canada will also lay off about 1,700 employees, and about 200 employees of its express airlines will also be affected.
WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, announced further flight cuts on January 8, reducing capacity by about 30% in February and March, equivalent to an 80% year-on-year reduction in operation.
To this end, 1,000 employees will be temporarily laid off, unpaid leave or reduced working hours. The company also freezes recruitment.
Canada began to implement a new temporary inbound epidemic prevention directive for air passengers on January 7.
All travelers must in principle be tested for COVID-19 and certified negative before departing for Canada.
WestJet responded to the media earlier that within four days of the implementation of the new regulation, the company had refused to board 363 passengers who did not meet the requirements.
