British Airways will suspend all flights from Gatwick and leave “many employees” due to the new Covid lockdown.

In a letter to the staff that he saw Sky NewsThe airline warned that this would mean “moving many colleagues, from the areas of operating and support functions to the government’s expanded job-retention plan.”

BA, whose owner suffered a loss of £ 5.1 billion in the first nine months of 2020, described it as “a blow to our hopes of winter”.

It is the second time the airline has halted all flights at Gatwick, and the previous suspension comes shortly after the first national shutdown in March.

Gatwick Airport this time last year, left; And today in the midst of an epidemic, it is true

“We took the difficult decision to curtail our operations further for the rest of November.” The Alexandria Library administration said in its message.

That means far fewer flights than we had hoped in November and means more of our aircraft will be shut down, including pausing all flights from Gatwick until December.

Under new restrictions imposed in England on Thursday, travel abroad is only permitted for specific purposes such as work and study for the next four weeks.

Today’s Gatwick photos revealed a building abandoned under new lockdown rules.

British Airways will continue to benefit from the Rishi Sunak leave scheme after the chancellor today announced a generous new extension until the end of March.

The taxpayer pays 80 percent of employee wages up to the £ 2,500 cap under the scheme, with employers charging only National Insurance and Pension costs.

In its message, British Airways told employees that it would focus on “important air links: returning thousands of customers currently abroad to their home countries, transporting vital cargo, and ensuring people are allowed to travel to and from the UK for work, education and other stipulated reasons.” United can continue to do so.

Last Friday, IAG, BA’s parent company, reported a loss of £ 5.1 billion in the first nine months of this year.

IAG CEO Luis Gallego blamed the pandemic for the reversal of wealth, but added that it was “ exacerbated ” by the “ constant change ” of government restrictions.

Instead, he said, countries need to “evolve” from quarantines He called for a new pre- or post-flight testing system that would release people upon arrival.

British Airways aircraft were grounded due to the coronavirus outbreak parked at Gatwick Airport in Sussex in May during the first lockdown.

“We can’t wait for a vaccine for people to fly,” said Mr. Gallego. We need to evolve from quarantine. They are not the solution.

Last month, the new CEO of the Library of Alexandria, Sean Doyle, called on the government to remove the requirement of self-isolation for international arrivals.

He said the current quarantine system is having a devastating impact on tourism and business travel and called for it to be replaced by a “pre-flight test” system.

Speaking at the 2050 Airlines conference on October 19, he said: “ We don’t think quarantine is the answer.

“We believe the best way to reassure people is to offer a reliable, affordable pre-flight test.”