Flydubai in talks with pilots, crew about future plans

The budget airline Flydubai has indefinitely extended the period of reduced pay for employees and placed dozens of pilots on unpaid leave for a year, according to Reuters.

The airline had temporarily cut salaries for three months from April, which had reduced wages of pilots and engineers by half and cabin crew pay by a quarter. It extended the pay cut and placed some pilots on unpaid leave in effort to preserve cash, Reuters reporter.

Pilots could be recalled to paid work early if needed. The airline has operated few, limited passenger flights since March when it grounded services due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A flydubai spokeswoman said that staff had been offered unpaid leave and that the airline was talking to some pilots and cabin crew about their future but declined to comment further. “The decisions we have had to take have not been taken lightly and we will extend our full support,” she said.