#Coronavirus: GoAir Employees Sent On Leave Without Pay; Fires Foreign Pilots, Contractual Employees

Coronavirus has created an unprecedented dip in business for the entire airline industry. We had already reported that some major airlines can go bankrupt, in few months, if this situation persists.

Now, we are witnessing the start of the mayhem.

GoAir has sent their employees on leave without pay, and foreign pilots have been told that their contract has been canceled.

What will happen next?

GoAir Employees Sent On Leave Without Pay

No-frill airlines GoAir has suspended all international routes till April 15th, due to the coronavirus impact.

Hundreds of employees have been sent on unpaid leaves, and contractual employees are being fired.

Several dip in ticket demands of both domestic and international routes have been cited as the main reason. GoAir regularly flies to Maldives, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Dubai, Dammam, Kuwait, Phuket, Bangkok and more.

The full time employees who are being sent on leave without pay, will be asked to stop working on a rotational basis. Cabin crew and customer service employees are among those who will be asked not to come to work, and will get no salary.

In a statement, GoAir said, “GoAir has also initiated a short-term and temporary rotational leave without pay program that will not only help the company counter the short-term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross section of our employees stay away from the workplace to ensure business continuity,” 

Foreign Pilots, Contractual Employees Terminated

At the same time, GoAir has canceled the contracts of all foreign pilots, and contractual employees are being directly fired, as there is no work to do.

In a statement, GoAir said, “In view of the current situation, GoAir has been forced to terminate the contracts of expat pilots which is in line with the reduced international capacity,”

Airlines industry is expecting a loss of more than $119 billion due to coronavirus impact.

We will keep you updated, as more news come in.