HELSINKI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Norwegian Air Shuttle, the struggling budget carrier, on Monday announced cutbacks in its crews based outside Norway.
In its statement, the airline said its pilot-and-cabin-personnel companies in Sweden and Denmark have filed for bankruptcy. Additionally, it has terminated pilot and staff leasing from its joint holdings with OSM Aviation in Britain, Finland, Sweden, Spain and the U.S.
The measures will affect 1,571 pilots and 3,134 cabin attendants, while 700 pilots and 1,300 cabin staffers based in Norway, France and Italy will not be affected.
"We have done everything we can to avoid making this last-resort decision and we have asked for access to government support in both Sweden and Denmark," said Norwegian Air Shuttle CEO Jacob Schram.
Nearly all of the flight operations by Norwegian Air have been suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, according to the company.
Earlier in April, the budget airline said it will launch company reorganization. The Norwegian government has indicated the airline would get three billion Norwegian crowns (290 million U.S. dollars) in assistance. But to qualify, the airline has to increase its share of own capital.
Schram said earlier that with the would-be public assistance the airline would manage "until June" at least. The company has called an additional shareholders meeting for early May. Enditem
